Amino Acids#

Amino Acid Structure

Amino acids are the monomers that make up proteins. Each amino acid has the same core structure, which consists of a central carbon atom, also known as the alpha (α) carbon, bonded to an amino group (NH2), a carboxyl group (COOH), and a hydrogen atom. Every amino acid also has another atom or group of atoms bonded to the alpha carbon known alternately as the R group, the variable group or the side-chain. For an additional introduction on amino acids, click here for a short (4 minute) video.

Amino acids have a central asymmetric carbon to which an amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a side chain (R group) are attached. Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti (own work)

Note: Possible discussion

Recall that one of the learning goals for this class is that you (a) be able to recognize, in a molecular diagram, the backbone of an amino acid and its side chain (R-group) and (b) that you be able to draw a generic amino acid. Make sure that you practice both. You should be able to recreate something like the figure above from memory (a good use of your sketchbook is to practice drawing this structure until you can do it with the crutch of a book or the internet).

The Amino Acid Backbone

The name "amino acid" is derived from the fact that all amino acids contain both an amino group and carboxyl-acid-group in their backbone. There are 20 common amino acids present in natural proteins and each of these contain the same backbone. The backbone, when ignoring the hydrogen atoms, consists of the pattern:

N-C-C

When looking at a chain of amino acids it is always helpful to first orient yourself by finding this backbone pattern starting from the N terminus (the amino end of the first amino acid) to the C terminus (the carboxylic acid end of the last amino acid).

Peptide bond formation is a dehydration synthesis reaction. The carboxyl group of the first amino acid is linked to the amino group of the second incoming amino acid. In the process, a molecule of water is released and a peptide bond is formed.
Try finding the backbone in the dipeptide formed from this reaction. The pattern you are looking for is: N-C-C-N-C-C

Attribution: Bis2A original image

The sequence and the number of amino acids ultimately determine the protein's shape, size, and function. Each amino acid is attached to another amino acid by a covalent bond, known as a peptide bond, which is formed by a dehydration synthesis (condensation) reaction. The carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of the incoming amino acid combine, releasing a molecule of water and creating the peptide bond.

Amino Acid R group

The amino acid R group is a term that refers to the variable group on each amino acid. The amino acid backbone is identical on all amino acids, the R groups are different on all amino acids. For the structure of each amino acid refer to the figure below.

There are 20 common amino acids found in proteins, each with a different R group (variant group) that determines its chemical nature. R-groups are circled in teal. Charges are assigned assuming pH ~6.0. The full name, three letter abbreviation and single letter abbreviations are all shown.

Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti (own work)

Note: Possible Discussion

Let's think about the relevance of having 20 different amino acids. If you were using biology to build proteins from scratch, how might it be useful if you had 10 more different amino acids at your disposal? By the way, this is actually happening in a variety of research labs - why would this be potentially useful?

Each variable group on an amino acid gives that amino acid specific chemical properties (acidic, basic, polar, or nonpolar). You should be familiar with most of the functional groups in the R groups by now. The chemical properties associated with the whole collection of individual functional groups gives each amino acid R group unique chemical potential.

For example, amino acids such as valine, methionine, and alanine are typically nonpolar or hydrophobic in nature, while amino acids such as serine and threonine are said to have polar character and possess hydrophilic side chains.

Note: Practice

Using your knowledge of functional groups, try classifying each amino acid in the figure above as either having the tendency to be polar or nonpolar. Try to find other classification schemes and think make lists for yourself of the amino acids you would put into each group. You can also search the internet for amino acid classification schemes - you will notice that there are different ways of grouping these chemicals based on chemical properties. You may even find that there are contradictory schemes. Try to think about why this might be and apply your chemical logic to figuring out why certain classification schemes were adopted and why specific amino acids were placed in certain groups.

Tags recommended by the template: article:topic