Kinetic determination of aspartate aminotransferase in human serum with a flow-injection/multidetection system

Photometric-kinetic methods for the determination of activity of aspartate aminotransferase are proposed. The flow-injection manifold used for this purpose includes a selecting valve which allows the sample to be trapped in a closed circuit where a solid reactor housing an auxiliary enzyme and a conventional single detector allows a multipeak recording to be obtained for each sample. This record represents a typical kinetic curve from which much information can be obtained to develop fixed-time and reaction-rate methods for the determination of the analyte based on its catalytic action on the L-aspartic acid-2 oxoglutarate system. The linear range is found to be between 1 and 500 U l-1, with relative standard deviation less than 1%. The utility of the methods is illustrated by the determination of the analyte in human serum from healthy and sick individuals.