The main focus of the laboratory is the study of secondary metabolites of plant and microbial origin – cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, vitamins, aminoacids.
Main objects of study are microbial biomass, microbial culture fluid, plant biomass and plant extracts.
The laboratory specializes in various extractions for extracting one or more target components from a mixture through developed and validated in-house analytical methods. Sampling methods include extraction with organics, freon and CO2.
Classical and modern analyses are performed to determine proteins, carbohydrates and secondary metabolites – colorimetric, spectrophotometric and chromatographic.
Modern methods include chromatographic methods. Chromatography is the most powerful and comprehensive technique in modern chemical analysis. It can separate very complex mixtures of their constituent components and at the same time give a quantitative measure of each constituent. Chromatography, together with high-sensitivity detectors, especially mass spectrometers, is an invaluable way of conducting research in biochemistry and medicine, environmental and food control, as well as in many other fields of science and industry.
The laboratory has gas (GC) and liquid chromatograph (HPLC). The potential to work with chromatographs is virtually enormous – large groups of BAS could be investigated.
The laboratory has developed and validated methods for the study of cannabinoids, terpenes, phytohormones, flavonoids, vitamins and amino acids.
The following classical methods are also used:
- Demonstration of aromatic amino acids – xanthoproteic reaction
- Demonstration of sulfur-containing amino acids – nitroprusside reaction
- Demonstration of amino acids, peptides and proteins in solution – ninhydrin reaction
- UV absorption methods for protein quantification
- Biuret method for protein determination
- Lowry method for protein determination
- Determination of protein concentration with BCA (bicinchoninic acid)
- Bradford method for protein determination
- Demonstration of carbohydrates in samples – reaction with α-naphthol or thymol
- Demonstration of reducing sugars – Tromer test, Felling test
- Miller dinitrosalicylic method for total reducing sugars
- Somogyi-Nelson method for reducing sugars
- Determination of antioxidant activity
