NOVEL 13C-LABELED AMINO ACID AND ITS FERMENTATIVE OR ITS ENZYMATIC PREPARATION

PURPOSE:To readily prepare a C-labeled amino acid by employing a C-labeled carbon source as a carbon source on the preparation of the amino acid by fermentation method or an enzymatic method. CONSTITUTION:An amino acid having one or more of C-labeled carbon atoms is prepared by a fermentation method or enzymatic method using a C-labeled carbon source as a carbon source. Amino acids whose all carbon atoms are the C atoms and only the carbon atoms of whose carboxyl group are C are excluded. The positions of the C atoms in the C-labeled amino acid molecule and the ratio of isomers relating to the C atoms among the prepared C-labeled amino acid mixture can be determined by NMR methods, respectively. The fermentation method or enzymatic method can be provide the objective amino acid in easier operations and in a higher yield than chemical synthetic methods. The subject methods have further a greatly important advantage wherein the positions and numbers of the carbon atoms in the C-labeled amino acid molecule are diversified.