An enzyme that cuts proteins by removing amino acids one at a time from the carboxyl (acid) end of the protein chain.
From carboxyl (end of protein) plus peptidase (enzyme that cuts peptide bonds). Named in early 20th-century biochemistry when researchers discovered different enzymes work on different protein ends.
Carboxypeptidase is like a molecular scissors that only cuts from one specific end of a protein—it was one of the first enzymes that made scientists realize enzymes are incredibly precise and picky about which bonds they break, revolutionizing how we understand biochemistry.
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