Application of Analytical Techniques to Chiral Amino Acid Profiling in Clinical Samples: Bridging Chemistry and Disease Research

Amino acids are the basic building blocks of proteins that are required to control various vital biological processes, including immune response, hormone regulation, metabolic control, and gene expression. Although L-amino acids are the primary components of protein synthesis, their mirror-image counterparts, D-amino acids, exhibit distinct pharmacological and biological characteristics. As a result, reliable identification and measurement of these enantiomers have become critical criteria in biology, chemistry, and medicine. Because changes in D-amino acid levels are closely related to the onset and progression of a variety of human disorders, the therapeutic utility of these amino acids as diagnostic biomarkers is gaining traction. This article investigates the vital role of chiral amino acids in clinical disorders, with a particular emphasis on their implications for neurological conditions. It also evaluates the several techniques and analytical systems used to identify enantiomeric amino acids in complex biological matrices, focusing on current technological breakthroughs that have increased the sensitivity and precision of these evaluations.