Desmosine is prepared according to the method of Starcher et al. (7) from hydrolyzed bovine neck ligament by solvent extraction and chromatography on Dowex 50. Purity is determined by amino acid analysis and by thin layer chromatography. Rt = 0 butanol / acetic acid / water (4:1:1).
The purity is 90-95% plus/minus 0.2%.
Anydrous MW is 526.
Desmosine is extremely hygroscopic and must be stored over a desiccant such as silica gel.
The following package quantities are prepared within plus/minus 0.1 mg under desiccated conditions.
Desmosine and isodesmosine are very stable amino acids. They survive autoclaving and boiling in sodium hydroxide during purification. The only thing that happens during time, provided they are not kept away from moisture, is they may darken a little and become a gel. They are extremely hydroscopic