Amino Acid Analysis

Amino acids are groups of molecules that come together to form proteins. Amino acids and proteins are the building blocks of life. When proteins are digested or broken down, amino acids remain. The human body uses these amino acids to make proteins that are essential for the body to break down food, grow, repair body tissue, and perform many other bodily functions. Amino acids are used by the body as a source of energy.

Essentially, amino acids are divided into three groups: essential amino acids, non-essential amino acids and conditional amino acids.

• Essential amino acids cannot be produced by the body. They must come from the food consumed. The nine essential amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.
• Non-essential amino acids are amino acids that the body produces itself, even if it is not taken from the foods consumed. Non-essential amino acids include: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine and tyrosine.
• Conditional amino acids, on the other hand, are those that are generally not essential except in times of illness and stress. Conditional amino acids include: arginine, cysteine, glutamine, tyrosine, glycine, ornithine, proline and serine.

It is not necessary to consume essential and non-essential amino acids at every meal. However, it is important to keep their balance throughout the day. In this regard, a diet based on a single plant substance is not sufficient.

Amino acid analyzes are performed to determine the amino acid content of samples containing amino acids, peptides and proteins. With minor exceptions, proteins are long linear polymers of amino acids linked together via peptide bonds. The first step of amino acid analysis involves hydrolyzing these peptide bonds. The released amino acids are then separated and detected..

A method using hydrochloric acid hydrolysis has been used for amino acid analysis since the 1950s. In this method, proteins and peptides are hydrolyzed to component amino acids, which are then separated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and detected by UV or fluorometry. New technologies allow analyzes to be more sensitive and less samples to be analyzed.

Our organization also provides amino acid analysis services with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment, among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it provides for businesses in various sectors.