Asparagine Assay Kit (Colorimetric)

Asparagine is one of the 20 naturally-occuring amino acids used by all organisms in the biosynthesis of proteins. In humans, it is considered a non-essential amino acid, as it can be synthesized in vivo from aspartate and glutamine. In addition to its role as a protein building block, asparagine is vital for pre- and postnatal neuronal development. Congenital deficiency of the enzyme Asparagine Synthetase (EC 6.3.5.4) results in microcephaly, intractable seizures and severe neurodevelopmental disabilities. In contrast, depletion of asparagine levels is employed as a treatment strategy for certain cancers, particularly acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and other hematopoietic cancers. Lymphoblasts are incapable of synthesizing asparagine de novo and are thus dependent on exogenous sources. Treatment with the bacterial enzyme Asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1) deprives malignant cells of the circulating plasma asparagine needed for rapid growth. BioVision’s Asparagine Assay Kit allows for highly sensitive quantification of L-asparagine levels in biological fluids and cultured cells. In the assay, L-asparagine is hydrolysed to generate aspartate, which is converted to pyruvate and subsequently reacts with a fluorogenic probe to form a stable fluorophore (Ex/Em = 538/587 nm) via a series of coupled enzymatic reactions. The assay is not affected by physiological concentrations of other common amino acids and can detect asparagine levels down to 5 μM in samples.