stable Glutamine

N-acetyl-L-alanyl-L-glutamine (stable glutamine) for cell culture. L-glutamine is an essential amino acid that is essential for cell growth. While normal L-glutamine undergoes autohydrolysis and is therefore not stable in solution, it can be substituterd by the addition of stable N-acetyl-L-alanyl-L-glutamine which guarantees cell culture medium still containing "L-Glutamine" even after 2 years storage. N-acetyl-L-alanyl-L-glutamine is cleaved by cellular aminopeptidases into alanine and glutamine, providing the cell with the necessary supply of L-glutamine for growth.

Mechanism:
When cells are cultured in N-acetyl-L-alanyl-L-glutamine containing media, the cells gradually release aminopeptidases which hydrolyze the dipeptide, slowly releasing L-alanine and L-glutamine into the culture medium. L-glutamine and L-alanine can then be taken up by the cells and used for protein production or in the TCA cycle. This mechanism can be compared to the fed-batch culture strategy in which L-glutamine is continuously fed into the culture but kept at a low concentration. The result is an efficient energy metabolism and a high growth yield without excess ammonia.