amino acid (əmē`nō), any one of a class of simple organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and in certain cases sulfur. These compounds are the building blocks of proteins. They are characterized by the presence of a carboxyl group (COOH) and an amino group (NH₂) attached to the same carbon at the end of the compound. The 20 amino acids commonly found in animals are alanine alanine (ăl`ənēn'), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , arginine arginine (är`jənĭn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , asparagine asparagine (əspâr`əjēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , aspartic acid aspartic acid (əspär`tĭk), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , cysteine cysteine (sĭs`tēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins .
..... Click the link for more information. , glutamic acid glutamic acid (gl
..... Click the link for more information. , glutamine glutamine (gl
..... Click the link for more information. , glycine glycine (glī`sēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , histidine histidine (hĭs`tĭdēn), organic compound, one of the 22 α- amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , isoleucine isoleucine (ī'səl
..... Click the link for more information. , leucine leucine zippers. Leucine was isolated from cheese in an impure form in 1819 and from muscle and wool in the crystalline state in 1820. It was named after the Greek word leukos
..... Click the link for more information. , lysine lysine (lī`sēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , methionine methionine (mĕthī`ənēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , phenylalanine phenylalanine (fĕn'əlăl`ənēn'), organic compound, one of the 22 α- amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , proline proline (prō`lēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , serine serine (sĕr`ēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , threonine threonine (thrē`ənēn), organic compound, one of the 22 α- amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , tryptophan tryptophan (trĭp`təfăn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , tyrosine tyrosine (tī`rəsēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. , and valine valine (văl`ēn), organic compound, one of the 22 α- amino acids commonly found in animal proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. . More than 100 less common amino acids also occur in biological systems, particularly in plants. Every amino acid except glycine can occur as either of two optically active stereoisomers, d or l; the more common isomer isomer (ī`səmər), in chemistry, one of two or more compounds having the same molecular formula but different structures
..... Click the link for more information. in nature is the l-form. When the carboxyl carbon atom of one amino acid covalently binds to the amino nitrogen atom of another amino acid with the release of a water molecule, a peptide peptide, organic compound composed of amino acids linked together chemically by peptide bonds. The peptide bond always involves a single covalent link between the α-carboxyl (oxygen-bearing carbon) of one amino acid and the amino nitrogen of a second amino acid.
..... Click the link for more information. bond is formed. Amino acids are released in the intestinal tract by the digestion of food proteins and are then carried in the bloodstream to the body cells, where they are used for growth, maintenance, and repair. Cellular catabolism breaks amino acids down into smaller fragments. Many of the amino acids necessary in metabolism can be synthesized in the human or animal body when needed; these are called nonessential. Others cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities; these are termed essential and must be provided in the diet.

amino acid

Any of a class of organic compounds in which a carbon atom has bonds to an amino group (−NH₂), a carboxyl group (−COOH), a hydrogen atom (−H), and an organic side group (called −R). They are therefore both carboxylic acids and amines. The physical and chemical properties unique to each result from the properties of the R group, particularly its tendency to interact with water and its charge (if any). Amino acids joined linearly by peptide bonds (see covalent bond) in a particular order make up peptides and proteins. Of over 100 natural amino acids, each with a different R group, only 20 make up the proteins of all living organisms. Humans can synthesize 10 of them (by interconversions) from each other or from other molecules of intermediary metabolism, but the other 10 (essential amino acids: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine) must be consumed in the diet.

amino acid

any of a group of organic compounds containing one or more amino groups, -NH₂, and one or more carboxyl groups, -COOH. The alpha-amino acids RCH(NH₂)COOH (where R is either hydrogen or an organic group) are the component molecules of proteins; some can be synthesized in the body (nonessential amino acids) and others cannot and are thus essential components of the diet (essential amino acids)

amino acid [ə′mē‚nō ′as·əd]

(biochemistry)

Any of the organic compounds that contain one or more basic amino groups and one or more acidic carboxyl groups and that are polymerized to form peptides and proteins; only 20 of the more than 80 amino acids found in nature serve as building blocks for proteins; examples are tyrosine and lysine.

amino acid (redirected from amino acid sequencer)

amino acid

amino acid
(redirected from amino acid sequencer)