Amino Acid Screening Test
Two types of amino acid screening tests are used together to diagnose amino acid disorders.
Blood plasma screening
In the blood test, a medical technician draws a small amount of blood from a baby's heel. The procedure is rapid and relatively painless. Total time for the test is less than ten minutes. The blood is sent to a laboratory where results will be available in about two days.
Urine test
In the urine test, the patient is asked to urinate into a collecting cup. For an infant, the urine is
collected in a pediatric urine collector. The process is painless. The length of time the test
takes is determined by how long it takes the patient to urinate. Results also take about two days.
Both these tests use thin layer chromatography to separate the amino acids present. Using this
technique, the amino acids form a characteristic patterns on a glass plate coated with a thin layer
of silica gel. This pattern is then compared to the normal pattern to determine if there are
abnormalities.
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Structure of Amino Acids
Amino Acid Properties
Classes of Amino Acids
Amino Acid Disorders Screening
Functions and Non-functions in proteins