Amino Acids
In Proteins
Proteins are polymers made of long chains of amino acid monomers
Animals can make some amino acids but also need to ingest some
Plants can make all the amino acids the require
Structure
Over 500 different amino acids but only 20 are proteinogenic
Each protein chain of amino acids contains:
o A carbon centre
o A hydrogen atom
o An amino group (-NH₂)
o A carboxyl group (-COOH)
o An R group which doesn’t stand for anything in particular and can be anything
When dissolved in water the amino and carboxyl groups ionise:
o Amino group acts as a base by accepting H+ ions
o Carboxyl group acts as a acid by producing H+ ions
This means amino acids have basic and acidic properties so are amphoteric
Can regulate pH, known as buffering
In Proteins
Proteins are polymers made of long chains of amino acid monomers
Animals can make some amino acids but also need to ingest some
Plants can make all the amino acids the require
Structure
Over 500 different amino acids but only 20 are proteinogenic
Each protein chain of amino acids contains:
o A carbon centre
o A hydrogen atom
o An amino group (-NH₂)
o A carboxyl group (-COOH)
o An R group which doesn’t stand for anything in particular and can be anything
When dissolved in water the amino and carboxyl groups ionise:
o Amino group acts as a base by accepting H+ ions
o Carboxyl group acts as a acid by producing H+ ions
This means amino acids have basic and acidic properties so are amphoteric
Can regulate pH, known as buffering
