Bovine pancreatic ribonuclease
![](/Images/godic/202501/01/RNase_A4311.png")
![A vial of RNAse A for use in molecular biology.](/Images/godic/202501/01/RNAseA4311.jpg")
![Labeled ribbon diagram dalla ribonuclease A pancreatica bovina (PDB accession code 7RSA). The backbone ribbon is colored from blue (N-terminus) to red (C-terminus). The side chains of the four disulfide-bonded cysteines are shown in yellow, with their sulfur atoms highlighted as small spheres. Residues important for catalysis are shown in magenta.](/Images/godic/202501/01/Ribonuclease_A_7rsa4311.png")
Bovine pancreatic ribonuclease, also often referred to as bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A or simply RNase A, is a pancreatic ribonuclease enzyme that cleaves single-stranded RNA. Bovine pancreatic ribonuclease is one of the classic model systems of protein science. Two Nobel Prizes in Chemistry have been awarded in recognition of work on bovine pancreatic ribonuclease: in 1972, the Prize was awarded to Christian Anfinsen for his work on protein folding and to Stanford Moore and William Stein for their work on the relationship between the protein's structure and its chemical mechanism; in 1984, the Prize was awarded to Robert Bruce Merrifield for development of chemical synthesis of proteins.