19/06/2025
I am honored to represent Sykam Chromatography Products in South Africa.
Sykam manufatures HPLC system and components,fluid components , Ion Chropmatography Amino Acid Analyzers.
Sykam's classical amino acid analyzers are based on cation exchange chromatography followed by post-column derivatization with Ninhydrin and detection at 440 nm and 570 nm. This methodology, established in the 1960s and pioneered by Stanford Moore, Darrel Spackman, and William Stein, is widely known as the “Stein & Moore Method” — the foundation of what we now refer to as the classical amino acid analysis technique.
Despite the development of various alternative methods over the past 25 years, classical amino acid analyzers remain the gold standard for precise and reproducible results. They continue to serve as the reference method for amino acid analysis and are expected to retain this role for the foreseeable future.
In the food and feed industry, classical amino acid analyzers are essential for compliance with EU Commission Directive 98/64/EC, which mandates cation exchange chromatography and post-column derivatization with Ninhydrin for amino acid determination.
For the analysis of physiological fluids and the investigation of inborn errors of metabolism, classical amino acid analyzers are unmatched in their quantitative accuracy. While LC-MS/MS technologies have found applications in this field, classical analyzers are still considered the benchmark—offering reliable detection of special amino acids critical for newborn screening, with the added benefits of ease of use and low operational costs.
These are just a few reasons why classical amino acid analyzers continue to be trusted in metabolic laboratories, food and feeds laboratories and hospitals worldwide.
