that contains an amino group, a carboxyl group and a side-chain that is specific to each amino acid. • -Amino acid -Amino acid: : an amino acid in which the amino group is on the carbon adjacent to the carboxyl group • The are 20 common α-amino acids used by the ribosomes to make proteins. These 20 have L chirality at the α- carbon.
are naturally incorporated into polypeptides and are called proteinogenic or standard amino acids. These 20 are encoded by universal genetic code. • 10 standard amino acids (Lys, Met, His, Leu, Ile, Thr, , Try, Phe, Val & Arg) are called "essential" for humans because they cannot be created from other compounds by the human body, and so must be taken in as food. • From these building blocks different organisms can make such widely diverse products as enzymes, hormones, antibodies, antibiotics, and a myriad of other substances having distinct biological activities. • Also used as single molecules in biochemical pathways Chemistry of Amino Acids R side chain | H 2 N— C —COOH | H 3
optically active (chiral) 2 forms of enantiomers/stereoisomers • d = dextrorotatory ,dextro means right • l = levorotatory, levo means left • D, L = relative to glyceraldehyde 5
can react with loss of a water molecule to form a covalent bond. 6 • Chain of amino acids = peptide or protein Amide linkage is planar NH and CO are anti
amino acid that cannot be synthesized itself by the organism (usually referring to humans), and therefore must be supplied in the diet. • 10 amino acids are essential amino acid • They are - arg, his, ile, leu, lys, met, phe, thr, trp, val • Must obtain from the diet • An adequate diet must contain these essential amino acids. Typically, they are supplied by meat and dairy products • Essential amino acids help the body function and regulate neurotransmitters, chemicals in the brain that control mood and behavior. • A lack of essential amino acids can cause emotional or physical difficulties and lead to health disorder
form, they are more properly written in the zwitterion (internal salt) form (Germ. Zwitter means hybrid) • Both the –NH 2 and the –COOH groups in an amino acid undergo ionization in water. • At physiological pH (7.4), a zwitterion forms – Both + and – charges – Overall neutral – Amphoteric • Amino group is protonated • Carboxyl group is deprotonated • Soluble in polar solvents due to ionic character Zwitterions 13
- Salt formation with alkalis, ester formation with alcohols, amide formation with amines and decarboxylation 2- Reactions due to NH 2 group: Deamination & reaction with ninhydrin Ninhydrin reagent reacts with amino group of amino acid yielding colored product. The intensity of blue color indicates quantity of amino acids present. • Ninhydrine can react with imino acids as proline and hydroxy proline but gives yellow color 15 R CO2 H3 N H H3 C O CH3 O O base R CO2 H HN H O H3 C HOCH2 CH3 H+ R CO2 CH2 CH3 H2 N H Amino acids will undergo reactions characteristic of the amino (amide formation) and carboxylic acid (ester formation) groups.
amino acids. Reaction requires 2-5 min at 100oC and is sensitive at the nanomole level. Ruhemann’s Purple 570 nm OH O O OH NH2 -CH-COOH CH3 + O O O O N CO2 CH3 CHO + + 2 Note: The product from Pro is Yellow and absorbs at 440 nm. 16
protein. •These 20 amino acids are linked together through “peptide bond forming peptides and proteins. •The chains containing less than 50 amino acids are called “peptides”, while those containing greater than 50 amino acids are called “proteins”. Peptide bond formation: Peptide bond Peptide bond is the is the amide bond between the -carboxyl group of one amino acid and the - amino group of another 17
joined by peptide bonds; they are classified by the number of amino acids in the chain – dipeptide: a molecule containing two amino acids joined by a peptide bond – tripeptide: a molecule containing three amino acids joined by peptide bonds – 12-20 residues (Each unit/AA) – oligopeptide. – polypeptide: a macromolecule containing many amino acids Linear polymers (no branches) AA monomers linked head to tail through formation of peptide bonds – protein: a biological macromolecule of molecular weight 5000 g/mol or greater, consisting of one or more polypeptide chains 19
O H N R -H2 0 • Basic amide synthesis is the reaction of a carboxylic acid and an amine with the loss of water. • Some of the main properties of the amide bond is it’s low basicity, which is useful in purification, and it’s stability, due to resonance. • Since the free electrons of the N atom are tied up in forming partial (≈ 40%) double bond, N atom can not accept a proton (H+). • This N also has a partial positive charge which will repel protons and prevent them from binding to the nitrogen (thus no ionization). R C O NH 2 δ− δ+
from alanine and glycine is complicated because both amino acids have two functional groups. •As a result, four products—namely, Ala-Ala, Ala-Gly, Gly- Gly and Gly-Ala—are possible. Peptide Synthesis
polypeptide chains (subunits) • Determine number of disulfide bonds (inter- and intra chain) • Determine the amino acid composition of each polypeptide chain • If subunits are too large, fragment them into shorter polypeptide chains • Determine the amino acid sequence of each fragment using the Edman degradation method