Tryptophan Assay Kit (Fluorometric)

Tryptophan (TRP) is one of the eight essential amino acids. In general, TRP is the least abundant amino acid in humans. Chemically, TRP side chain (indole) confers its unique fluorometric properties. External sources of tryptophan include chicken, tuna, bananas, cheese, chocolate etc. Tryptophan is mainly used for protein synthesis. Additionally, TRP serves as a building block for several metabolites including kynurenine, serotonin, tryptamine, melatonin, niacin, and NAD/NAPD. TRP is the only amino acid that can be found in blood in two forms: bound (BTRP) and free (FTRP) Tryptophan. Changes in tryptophan concentrations are directly related to a number of physiological and behavioral processes including: sleep, memory, depression, motion sickness, bipolar disorders, and schizophrenia. BioVision’s Tryptophan Assay Kit provides a simple, sensitive, and high-throughput adaptable assay that detects tryptophan concentration in biological fluids, including free and bound tryptophan in serum. The principle is based on the non-enzymatic reaction to generate a fluorophore (Ex/Em = 370/440 nm) using tryptophan as a building block. The reaction is specific and other amino acids do not interfere with the assay. The assay can detect as little as 2.5 µM of TRP in a variety of biological samples.