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# Amino acid

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In chemistry, any molecule that contains both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups.

In biochemistry, this shorter and more general term is frequently used to refer to alpha amino acids, that is, those amino acids in which the amino and carboxylate functionalities are attached to the same carbon.

The generalized structure of alpha amino acids is:

        COOH
        |
      H-C-R
        |
        NH2

Where "R" represents a side chain specific to each particular amino acid.

There are twenty amino acids commonly found in nature:

      Abbrev.         Full Name       Side chain

     A    Ala         Alanine           -CH3

     C    Cys         Cysteine          -CH2SH

     D    Asp         Aspartic acid     -CH2C(O)OH

     E    Glu         Glutamic Acid     -CH2CH2C(O)OH

     F    Phe         Phenylalanine     -CH2C6H5

     G    Gly         Glycine           -H

     H    His         Histidine         -CH2-C=CH-NH-CH=N
                                             \_________/

     I    Ile         Isoleucine        -CH(CH3)-CH2-CH3

     K    Lys         Lysine            -(CH2)4-NH2

     L    Leu         Leucine           -CH2-CH(CH3)2

     M    Met         Methionine        -CH2CH2SCH3

     N    Asn         Asparagine        -CH2C(O)NH2

     P    Pro         Proline           -NH-(CH2)3-CH
                                          \_______/

     Q    Gln         Glutamine         -CH2CH2C(O)NH2

     R    Arg         Arginine          -(CH2)3-NH-C(NH2)=NH

     S    Ser         Serine            -CH2OH

     T    Thr         Threonine         -CH(OH)-CH3

     V    Val         Valine            -CH(CH3)-CH3

     W    Trp         Tryptophan        -CH2-C=CH-NH-Phenyl
                                             \______/

     Y    Tyr         Tyrosine          -C6H4OH

Note that in the case of Proline the side chain links to the amino acid's amino group nitrogen atom as well as the central carbon.

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Last edited August 15, 2001 2:05 am (diff)
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