Amino acids are the basic units of protein and are widely used in the food, medicine, additives and cosmetics industries. With the development of the bioengineering technology industry gradually becoming one of the main industries in the world in the 21st century, the demand for amino acids is increasing, the variety is changing faster and faster, and the process reform is getting newer and newer. This article will briefly introduce the application and development prospects of amino acids. Since the 1960s in China, the application of amino acids has accounted for 61% of the food industry and 30% of the beverage industry. Its proportion in medicine, daily chemical industry, agriculture, metallurgy, environmental protection, light industry, bioengineering technology, etc. have been increasing year by year.
Application of amino acids：
- Applications in the food industry
Sodium glutamate is the first amino acid used by humans, and it is also the most widely used amino acid in the world with the largest production and sales volume. Later, people have discovered that glycine, alanine, proline, and aspartic acid also have flavoring effects, and they have been used in the food industry. Lysine is one of the essential amino acids of the human body, which has the functions of enhancing gastric secretion and hematopoietic function. If the human body lacks lysine, protein metabolism disorders will occur. my country has included lysine in the hygienic standards for the use of food nutrition fortifiers and has developed a variety of lysine foods and beverages.
The sweet dipeptide synthesized by aspartic acid and phenylalanine, glycine and lysine (commonly known as protein sugar) has a sweetness of about 150 times that of sucrose, with pure sweetness and low calorific value. Its decomposition products can be absorbed and utilized by the human body, so it is mostly used in the production of soda, coffee, and dairy products.Glycine can be used as a food additive, flavoring agent, amino acid nutritional fortifier and preservative; sodium glycinate produced by neutralization of glycine and soda ash can be used as a nutritional additive; the reaction product of glycine solution and basic sodium carbonate can be used to treat deficiency disorders Wait.
In addition, the functions of amino acids in the food industry include: lysine can be used as a food deodorant; glycine can be used as an antibacterial agent; lysine polymer can be used as a food preservative; glycine, L-glutamic acid, etc. can be used as food spices; Lysine and arginine can be used as food coloring agents; glycine can be used as puffed food additives.
- Application in the pharmaceutical industry
Amino acids are the raw materials for the synthesis of human proteins, hormones, enzymes, and antibodies, and participate in normal metabolism and physiological activities in the human body. Amino acids and their derivatives can be used to treat various diseases and can be used as nutrients and metabolic modifiers. It has the effects of anti-ulcer, anti-radiation, anti-bacterial, cancer treatment, hypnosis, analgesia, and formulating a special diet for special patients. For example, the amino acid mixture can be used for injection by the patient, and the amino acid mixture powder can be used as a supplement for astronauts and pilots. For another example, arginine drugs are used to treat cerebral coma caused by ammonia poisoning; serine drugs are used as fatigue recovery agents; methionine and cysteine are used to treat fatty liver; glycine and glutamic acid are used to regulate gastric juice; L- Glutamate and L-glutamine are used to treat memory disorders after cerebral hemorrhage.
- Application in feed additive industry
The main amino acids used in the feed additive industry are methionine and lysine. Its main effects are: promote animal growth and development; improve meat quality, increase livestock and poultry production capacity and increase output; improve feed utilization, save protein feed, and reduce costs. For example, methionine is mainly used in chicken feed, but also mixed feed for pigs and cattle. For another example, lysine can enhance the appetite of livestock and poultry, improve disease resistance, and promote the healing of trauma.
- Application in the cosmetics industry
Amino acids and their derivatives are easily absorbed by the skin, restore elasticity to aging and hardened epidermis, and delay skin aging. Surfactants and antibacterial agents made of amino acids and higher fatty acids have become the most efficient additives and are widely used; carbonates of arginine, glycine, phenylalanine, valine, poly aspartic acid haircare agents and hair dyes made by others have developed into fashionable commodity supply market.
- Application in agriculture
Some amino acids have no bactericidal function in vitro, but they can interfere with the biochemical relationship between plants and pathogenic bacteria, change the metabolism and disease resistance of plants, and achieve the purpose of sterilization. For example, phenylalanine and alanine can be used to treat apple scabs. Another example is the use of glycine to make herbicides, which are easily decomposed by microorganisms and are not easy to cause environmental pollution.
- Applications in other industries
In bioengineering, cysteine, etc. are being developed into new protective agents; leucine, cysteine, etc. are being used as additives for various amino acid-producing bacteria in the fermentation industry. In the light industry, polyglutamic acid and polyalanine are used in the production of artificial leather and high-grade artificial fibers with good heat preservation and air permeability. In the heavy metal extraction and electroplating industry, aspartic acid, histidine, and serine have important applications; glutamic acid can be used in electrolytic solutions in the electroplating industry, cysteine can be used for copper ore detection, and amino acid alkyl esters can be used Oil recovery at sea and so on.
The development prospects of amino acid industry
- Traditional amino acid production method：
Since 1908, it has successively developed amino acid production methods such as protein hydrolysis extraction method, chemical synthesis method, microbial fermentation method, and enzymatic method. Among them, protein hydrolysis is the most traditional method of amino acid production. In recent years, with the development of genetics, biochemistry, and bioengineering technology, fermentation has become the main method for producing amino acids.
- Use genetic engineering methods to produce amino acids：
A large number of excellent strains bred through genetic mutation and recombination have not only increased the yield of traditional products but also developed new products. The application of DNA recombination and gene-directed mutagenesis can carry out the directed breeding of production bacteria, break the boundaries of species, and concentrate the advantages of different strains, thereby breeding genetically engineered bacteria with high yield, high quality, and easy automated production. The use of genetic engineering methods to produce amino acids will become the future trend.
- Vigorously develop pharmaceutical intermediates：
Amino acids and their derivatives have gradually become pharmaceutical intermediates. Before the 1990s, amino acids were usually used as raw materials for nutritional infusion (accounting for 80% of medicinal amino acids). Since the late 1990s, amino acids and their derivatives have gradually become important raw materials for the synthesis of active drugs.
Unnatural amino acids are important raw materials for the synthesis of active drugs. At present, in addition to the natural amino acids produced by traditional methods, many new drugs (such as protease inhibitor anti-AIDS drugs) use artificially synthesized “unnatural amino acids”. At least 30 kinds of unnatural amino acids have been synthesized, which can be used as important raw materials for the synthesis of active drugs.
Produce high value-added unnatural amino acids. Among the natural amino acid products, glutamic acid, methionine, and lysine have the largest output, but the added value is low. Although the new D-amino acid is produced in a small quantity, the added value is higher. Therefore, the new development direction of the amino acid industry to improve the efficiency of enterprises is the high value-added unnatural amino acids required for the production of new synthetic drugs.
