Amino acids

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What are amino acids

The term amino acids refers to a groups of molecules which comprise the primary structure of a protein.

In general, amino acids have several features in common.

• The figure above shows that amino acids have a central carbon, refered to as the alpha carbon.
  
  

• Covalently bonded to the alpha carbon is a hydrogen (H)
  
  

• Covalently bonded to the alpha carbon is a carboxyl functional group
  (COO-)
  
  

• Covalently bonded to the alpha carbon is an amine functional group. (NH3+)
  
  

• Covalently bonded to the alpha carbon is a side chain. It is this side chain that distinguishes one kind of amino acid from another kind.