Ketoglutarate (KG) is a key intermediate in the Krebs cycle, coming after isocitrate and before succinyl CoA. Anaplerotic reactions replenish the cycle by synthesizing KG from transamination of glutamate, or through the action of glutamate dehydrogenase. KG is an important nitrogen transporter. Being a key intermediate, it is one of the organic acids measured in newborns as an indicator of inborn errors of metabolism. Assay Genie's Ketoglutarate Assay Kit provides a simple, sensitive and rapid means for quantifying KG in a variety of samples. In the assay, ketoglutarate is transaminated with the generation of pyruvate which is utilized to convert a nearly colorless probe to both color (ax = 570 nm) and fluorescence (Ex/Em = 535/587 nm). The Ketoglutarate Assay Kit is useful for detecting ketoglutarate in the range of 0.01 to 10 nmoles.

Figure 1: α-Ketoglutarate standard curve generated using this kit protocol.