What is the role of trifluoroacetic acid in the Edman degradation process?

• A. It stabilizes the peptide chain for further reactions.
• B. It identifies the N-terminal amino acid using HPLC.
• C. It cleaves the N-terminal amino acid from the peptide chain.
• D. It reacts with the N-terminal amino acid to form a stable derivative.

Answer: (C)