Use of gas chromatography for determining catabolic products of arginine by bacteria

A rapid and sensitive procedure for determining catabolic products of arginine metabolism by bacteria was developed. The method consists of inoculating a solution of L-arginine with a heavy cell suspension of the test organism. After a 2-hr incubation period, dissimilation products (citrulline, ornithine, agmatine, putrescine) are converted to volatile derivatives and analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. Compared with conventional microbiological tests, the new procedure is rapid and can be used for sensitive quantitative measurements of specific metabolites from arginine.