amino acid definition

amino acid

Definition:

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The basic building block of proteins (or polypeptides). Containing a basic amino (NH2) group, an acidic carboxyl (COOH) group and a side chain (R - of a number of different kinds) attached to an alpha carbon atom. Thus:

R
|
NH2-C-COOH
|
H

List of amino acids

Name	3-letter symbol	1-letter symbol	Type of side chain
Alanine	Ala	A	nonpolar
Arginine	Arg	R	pos. charged polar
Asparagine	Asn	N	uncharged polar
Aspartic acid	Asp	D	neg. charged polar
Cysteine	Cys	C	uncharged polar
Glutamic acid	Glu	E	neg. charged polar
Glutamine	Gln	Q	uncharged polar
Glycine	Gly	G	nonpolar
Histidine	His	H	pos. charged polar
Isoleucine	Ile	I	nonpolar
Leucine	Leu	L	nonpolar
Lysine	Lys	K	pos. charged polar
Methionine	Met	M	nonpolar
Phenylalanine	Phe	F	nonpolar
Proline	Pro	P	nonpolar
Serine	Ser	S	uncharged polar
Threonine	Thr	T	uncharged polar
Tryptophan	Trp	W	nonpolar
Tyrosine	Try	Y	uncharged polar
Valine	Val	V	nonpolar