What is an amino acid and how do they make up proteins?

Question

Daniel Arnold · Accepted Answer

Amino acids are molecules that are the building blocks of proteins.

An amino acid is a molecule (compound) that has a backbone with an amino-end #NH_2# and an acid-end #COOH# (carboxyl). There are 20 amino acids that form all the proteins in the body, they differ in their side chain R (see image)

To form a peptide a few amino acids are coupled together. To form a protein a whole string of amino acids is formed and later folded.

The coupling of amino acids is a condensation reaction i.e. water is released. The image below shows this reaction. The bond between two amino acids is called a peptide bond .

Piper Anderson · Answer

undefined Proteins are made up of amino acids, which are organic compounds with two bonded amino groups (-NH2), one carboxyl group (-COOH) to a central carbon atom, and one variable side chain (represented by the letter R). Amino acids are joined by peptide bonds, which are formed between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another amino acid. This process forms a polypeptide chain, which can fold into a specific three-dimensional structure to create a functional protein.