Amino acids (AA) are the foundational building blocks for peptides and proteins. These small molecules regulate metabolic pathways that are involved in cell maintenance, growth, reproduction, and immunity. Branched-chain amino acids play a large role in building muscle tissue and participate in increasing protein synthesis. Amino acids also play a role in cell signaling, gene expression, and protein phosphorylation. Maintaining an optimal balance of amino acids is vital to maintaining a stable equilibrium of physiological processes.
Metabolomics reveals biological insights otherwise unseen. For a successful metabolomics study, both small molecule discovery and the ability to dig deeper into specific biomarkers of interest are needed to uncover actionable insights that propel new therapeutic developments. A specific combination of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technology and biochemical expertise is required to identify these biomarkers of interest and develop assays that are sensitive enough to explore them fully.
At Metabolon, we understand the crucial role amino acids play in physiological processes, and we’ve established best-in-class expertise for their detection. This panel focuses on specific amino acids and their metabolic pathways and can be used to track biomarkers and enhance biological understanding across preclinical and clinical research.
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| LLOQ* | |
|---|---|
| Metabolite | Plasma/Serum (µg/mL) |
| Alanine | 1.00 |
| Arginine | 1.00 |
| Asparagine | 0.250 |
| Aspartic Acid | 0.250 |
| Glutamic Acid | 0.500 |
| Glutamine | 2.50 |
| Glycine | 0.750 |
| Histidine | 0.500 |
| Isoleucine | 0.250 |
| Leucine | 0.500 |
| Lysine | 1.00 |
| Methionine | 0.125 |
| Phenylalanine | 0.400 |
| Proline | 1.00 |
| Serine | 0.400 |
| Threonine | 0.500 |
| Tryptophan | 0.500 |
| Tyrosine | 1.00 |
| Valine | 1.00 |
| Trans-4-hydroxyproline | 0.0500 |
| Ornithine | 0.250 |
| Citruline | 0.200 |
*Lower Limit of Quantitation (LLOQ) varies for each sample type.
LC-MS/MS: Agilent 1290 UHPLC/Sciex QTrap 5500
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| Sample Type | Sample Requirements |
|---|---|
| Plasma/Serum | ≥ 150 µl |
Others on request
Disclaimer: This panel is for Research Use Only and is not to be used for diagnostic purposes.
Our readily available or custom developed quantitative assays help you achieve your research and biomarker validation objectives with precise and fully validated methods. Our targeted assays and panels cover more than 1,000 metabolites and lipids across a wide range of biochemical classes, metabolic pathways, and physiological processes, and they can be customized to best fit any application.
Metabolomics can be essential for investigating the association between nutrition and health status, as metabolites represent a functional readout at the interface between diet and the complex metabolic systems that influence both health and disease. By illuminating the interactions of metabolites throughout the body within defined pathways, targeted metabolomics can help investigators gain new insights into the absorption and digestion of diet-derived macronutrients, monitor metabolism by various organ systems, and subsequently assess the underlying biology of various health and disease states.
Diabetes is a serious metabolic condition affecting more than 37 million Americans and 460 million people worldwide according to the most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control. Despite being a worldwide epidemic, much remains unknown about individual risk factors for diabetes development, and research is currently being done to identify new and effective treatment for diabetes at all stages. By facilitating assessment of specific metabolic pathways impacted by diabetes, targeted metabolomics can be a critical tool used to identify biomarkers of disease development for early intervention and novel targets to control disease progression, as well for the development of new pharmaceuticals with specific mechanisms of action.
The liver is the single most important regulator of metabolic homeostasis at the organismal level. That makes metabolomics an indispensable tool for capturing an integrative profile of an individual’s liver function. As the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) continues to rise, researchers and health-care providers can look to Metabolon to provide much-needed non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic indicators as well as a fundamental understanding of pathological processes. The metabolome integrates an individual’s genetic makeup and gene expression profile with nongenetic factors such as diet, environmental exposures, and the microbiome. Therefore, layering metabolomic analysis onto genomic and transcriptomic data provides the best opportunity to understand disease.
It is well-established that a low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet (KD) can help treat refractory epilepsy, which affects more than a third of epileptic patients who don’t respond to existing anticonvulsive drugs. What scientists haven’t understood until recently is how this kind of diet translates to brain activity. The answer for this aspect of epilepsy lies in the gut microbiome. There are many other neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, Parkinson’s disease and more. While so much remains to be understood about brain science, we do know that metabolomics is uniquely poised to understand the brain because of the ability of metabolites, small molecules, to cross the blood-brain barrier providing unique insights.
Heart failure is a leading cause of death worldwide, and there are numerous factors that lead to this and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Metabolomics can illuminate cardiovascular disease at multiple levels. In preclinical studies, such as with cardiomyocytes or heart tissue from model organisms, understanding mitochondrial function, energetics, and redox status can drive critical insights into disease mechanism. In human studies, metabolomics offers the opportunity to account for well-established CVD risk factors such as cholesterol and complex lipids, while simultaneously profiling thousands of other biochemicals in an unbiased fashion to enable the discovery of novel disease mechanisms and biomarkers.
Recognized for our cutting-edge approach to metabolomics, Metabolon has been a valued resource for COVID-19 researchers worldwide. Our actionable metabolomic insights have fueled pivotal and high-profile studies like the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) IMPACC study research to improve understanding of high-risk patients and the Institute for Systems Biology research to improve understanding of high-risk patients. These and other metabolomics projects with actionable insights at Metabolon are helping get closer to the phenotype and pressing forward on COVID-19 answers.
Once you see the full value of metabolomics, the only remaining question is: who does it best? While many laboratories have metabolite profiling or analytical chemistry capabilities, comprehensive metabolomics technologies are extremely rare.
Accurate, unbiased metabolite identification across the entire metabolome introduces signal-to-noise challenges that very few labs are equipped to handle. Also, translating massive quantities of data into actionable information is slow, if not impossible, for most because proper interpretation takes two things that are in short supply: experience and a comprehensive database.
Using our robust platform and visualization tools, our experts are uniquely able to tell you more about your molecule and develop assay panels to help you zero in on the results you need.
Coverage
Ability to interrogate thousands of metabolites across diverse biochemical space, revealing new insights and opportunities
Comparability
Ability to integrate the data from different studies into the same dataset, in different geographies, among different patients over time
Competency
Ability to inform on proper study design, generate high‐quality data, derive biological insights, and make actionable recommendations
Capacity
Ability to process hundreds of thousands of samples quickly and cost‐efficiently to service rapidly growing demand
Request a quote for our services, get more information on sample types and handling procedures, request a letter of support, or submit a question about how metabolomics can advance your research.
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