Casamino acids
Encyclopedia
Casamino acids is a mixture of amino acids and some very small peptide
s obtained from acid hydrolysis
of casein
It is typically used in microbial growth media. It has all the essential amino acids except tryptophan
which becomes almost completely destroyed when digested with sulfuric
or hydrochloric acid
.
Casamino acids are similar to tryptone
, the latter differing by being an incomplete enzymatic hydrolysis
with some oligopeptides present, while casamino acids predominantly free amino acids.
or used in its manufacture.
Peptide
Peptides are short polymers of amino acid monomers linked by peptide bonds. They are distinguished from proteins on the basis of size, typically containing less than 50 monomer units. The shortest peptides are dipeptides, consisting of two amino acids joined by a single peptide bond...
s obtained from acid hydrolysis
Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...
of casein
Casein
Casein is the name for a family of related phosphoprotein proteins . These proteins are commonly found in mammalian milk, making up 80% of the proteins in cow milk and between 60% and 65% of the proteins in human milk....
It is typically used in microbial growth media. It has all the essential amino acids except tryptophan
Tryptophan
Tryptophan is one of the 20 standard amino acids, as well as an essential amino acid in the human diet. It is encoded in the standard genetic code as the codon UGG...
which becomes almost completely destroyed when digested with sulfuric
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
or hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
.
Casamino acids are similar to tryptone
Tryptone
Tryptone is the assortment of peptides formed by the digestion of casein by the protease trypsin.Tryptone is commonly used in microbiology to produce Lysogeny broth for the growth of E. coli and other microorganisms...
, the latter differing by being an incomplete enzymatic hydrolysis
Enzymatic hydrolysis
Enzymatic hydrolysis is a process in digestion in which macromolecules are split from food by the enzymatic addition of water.It may be used to help provide renewable energy, as with Cellulosic ethanol....
with some oligopeptides present, while casamino acids predominantly free amino acids.
Uses
Casamino acids are either found in the Daptacel brand DTaP vaccineVaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
or used in its manufacture.