The measurement of essential amino acids is an important biochemical topic to address various scientific and social issues. For example, it can be found out how the fertilization of nitrogen on plants influences plant growth and metabolism. This is important for plant scientists to understand the utilization of nitrogen and for growers to balance nitrogen fertilization.

Our amino acid service is based on many years of experience in the targeted analysis of primary metabolites. In recent years, new technologies have enabled us to develop a new robust and cost-effective method for the analysis of soluble amino acids. Our method is reliable, fast (6 min) and most cost-effective among the available platforms on the market. More importantly, we are not limited to plant material, but analyze the composition or content of primary and secondary amino acids released by proteins or peptides, and in biological samples including tissues of plants, animals, soil, fruits, seeds, pollen and so on.

Upon receipt of the samples, either as raw material or already extracted tissue, they are dissolved in a suitable solution and a preliminary test is performed on two or three samples to define the required final sample and analysis volume. Here, we derivatize the individual samples with our own fluorescent derivatization reagent and load an aliquot onto the conditioned UPLC system.

With each set of samples, we run a series of standard mixtures with different defined concentrations and use them for the calculation and evaluation of amino acids in the samples. If certain amino acids exceed the detection limit, for example due to a special treatment, the samples are diluted and re-measured, of course, at no extra cost to the customers. In general, the concentration is first calculated as pmol per injection volume, multiplied with the total extraction volume and divided by the appropriate unit e.g. fresh weight, dry weight, ml, mg protein, etc. The whole procedure is offered as an additional free service by our company.

The calculated results are delivered to the customer as a final Excel spreadsheet. In addition a PowerPoint file including standard and sample chromatograms and some additional information will be provided for your own use. In any case, our support for the interpretation of the data is guaranteed.

The samples can either be prepared by the customer or we can do it for an additional fair price. In the case of a customer preparation, we can help you with the extraction.

For sampling, the plants should already been exposed to light at least for 4-6 hours. The sampling must be carried out as quick as possible and the plant material must be frozen immediately in liquid nitrogen. Depending on the plant tissue, 25 to 50 mg of fresh material or 5 to 10 mg of dry material is generally sufficient. This can be reduced if plant material is restricted. In other cases, such as animal tissue or fruits, preliminary analysis will be performed free of charge.

Yes, plant material can be supplied either as fresh tissue on dry ice or as lyophilized tissue.

Due to our many years of experience, our service is reliable, fast and cost-effective done within a short measuring time. Furthermore, the evaluation is carried out without additional costs. In the case of various treatments requiring a repetition of samples, the analysis is performed at no additional charge.

The samples can be delivered either on dry ice or as freeze-dried powder by postal mail to: Am Schwabenplan 1b, 06446 Gatersleben, Germany. However, prior to delivery a short notice should be forwarded to our company.

Your question is not answered yet? Please contact us for clarity. We look forward to your call (+49-159-06318085) or an email (info@bioanalytics-gatersleben.com)