AMINO ACIDS

Formation of peptide bond Classification of amino acids Functions of amino acids

What are Amino Acids ?

Amino acids are biologically important organic compounds made from amine (-NH2) and carboxylic acid (-COOH)functional groups, along with a side-chain specific to each amino acid. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, though other elements are found in the sidechains of certain amino acids

FORMATION OF PEPTIDE BOND

Covalent chemical bonds.. Through condensation reaction .. Link is peptide linkage Molecule formed amide Can be broken down with hydrolysis..

Classification of Amino Acids

AMINO ACIDS Requirement (Essential, nonessential) Functional group (Basic, acidic, neutral)

R group (Polar or non polar)

Requirement (Essential and nonessential)

Out of the twenty amino acids found in proteins in living organisms, some are non essential for human, because these can not be synthesised inside the cells. There are 8 Essential amino acids and 12 Nonessential amino acids.

Essential
Histidine Isoleucine Leucine Lysine Methionine Phenylalanine Threonine Tryptophan

Nonessential
Alanine Arginine Aspartic acid Cysteine Glutamic acid Glutamine Glycine Proline

Valine

Serine Tyrosine
Asparagine Selenocysteine

Essential Amino Acids

Essential Amino Acids 8 in number Cant be synthesized in the body Essential to be taken in diet. Arginine and Histidine are semi-essential

Non-Essential Amino Acids in Humans

Can be synthesized in the body Not required in diet Can be formed from a-keto acids by transamination and subsequent reactions

Functional group Basic Amino Acid

Basic- 1 carboxyl and 2 amino groups. Lysine Arginine Histidine

Acidic Amino Acid

Acidic- 2 carboxyl and 1 amino group. Aspartic Acid Glutamic Acid

Neutral Amino Acid

Neutral 1 carboxyl and 1 amino group Glycine Alanine Valine Leucine

R Group

Shape

Polarity/Charge

Aliphatic

Aromatic

Polar, uncharged

Nonpolar

Polar, positively charged

Polar, negatively charged

Polar Uncharged

Polarity / charge
1. Nonpolar amino acids Only carbon and hydrogen in their side chains. Generally unreactive but hydrophobic. 2. Polar amino acids Polar amino acids are those with side-chains that prefer to reside in an aqueous (i.e. water) environment. For this reason, one generally finds these amino acids exposed on the surface of a protein.

Nonpolar (Hydrophobic) R Groups

Glycine (Gly) Methionine (Met)

Alanine (Ala) Phenylalanine (Phe) Valine (Val) Proline (Pro) Leucine (Leu) Tryptophan (Trp) Isoleucine (Ile)

http://www.indstate.edu/thcme/mwking/amino-acids

Polar (Hydrophilic) R Groups

Serine (Ser) Cysteine (cys)

Threonine (Thr)

Asparagine (Asn)

Tyrosine (Tyr)

Glutamine (Gln)

http://www.indstate.edu/thcme/mwking/amino-acids.h

POLAR AMINO ACIDS Negatively Charged R Groups

Aspartic acid (Asp) Glutamic acid (Glu)

Two amino acids with negatively charged (i.e. acidic) side chains - Aspartate (Aspartic acid) and Glutamate (Glutamic acid).
These amino acids confer a negative charge on the proteins of which they are part.

Positively Charged R Groups

Lysine (Lys) Arginine (Arg) Histidine (His)

Lysine and Arginine both have pKs around 10.0 and are therefore always
positively charged at neutral pH.

With a pK of 6.5, Histidine can be uncharged or positively charged depending

upon its local environment. Histidine has an important role in the catalytic mechanism of enzymes and explains why it is often found in the active site.

SHAPES Aliphatic amino acids

Aliphatic R groups are Nonpolar and hydrophobic. Although these amino acids prefer to remain inside protein molecules, Alanine and Glycine are ambivalent, meaning that they can be inside or outside the protein molecule. Glycine has such a small side chain that it does not have much effect on the hydrophobic interactions.

Aliphatic amino acids

Less hydrophobic

More hydrophobic

Hydrophobicity increases with increasing number of C atoms in the hydrocarbon chain.

Acromatic amino acids

These are the amino acids which contain an aromatic ring as part of their side chains. Because of the hydrophobic nature of aromatic rings these amino acids are highly hydrophobic

Functions of Amino Acids

Formation of proteins

Formation of biologically active compound like thyroxin, melanin, adrenalin, IAA, Coenzymes etc.

Formation of glucose

Formation of amines

Nitrogen storage

Antibiotics

Biological buffers

Cell wall of prokaryotes

A peptidoglycan cell wall composed of disaccharides and amino acids gives bacteria structural support.