Ch 32 Amino Acids and Peptides - Core Points

Amino acids and peptides:
General structure (only primary structure for peptides) and
physical properties.
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amino acids are organic compounds containing both an amino group (NH2) and carboxylic group (COOH). They are represented by the general formula:
R
|
C-COOH
|
NH2

amino acids contain an amino group attached to alpha carbon of a carboxylic acid.

Amino acids are the basic units of proteins.

There are twenty amino acids commonly found in proteins.



Except Glycine all other amino acids contain asymmetric carbon atom next to the carboxylic acid.

Peptide linkage: The condensation of two amino acids with the eliminatin of H2O (H from NH2 and OH from the acid side produces CO-NH linkage, which in protein chemistry is known as peptide linkage.