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4: Amino Acids and Proteins

  • Page ID
    233997
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    • 4.1: Properties of Amino Acids
      Amino acids can be classified based on the characteristics of their distinctive side chains as nonpolar, polar but uncharged, negatively charged, or positively charged. The amino acids found in proteins are L-amino acids.
    • 4.2: Reactions of Amino Acids
      Amino acids can act as both an acid and a base due to the presence of the amino and carboxyl functional groups. The pH at which a given amino acid exists in solution as a zwitterion is called the isoelectric point (pI).
    • 4.3: Peptides
      The amino group of one amino acid can react with the carboxyl group on another amino acid to form a peptide bond that links the two amino acids together. Additional amino acids can be added on through the formation of addition peptide (amide) bonds. A sequence of amino acids in a peptide or protein is written with the N-terminal amino acid first and the C-terminal amino acid at the end (writing left to right).
    • 4.4: Proteins
      Proteins can be divided into two categories: fibrous, which tend to be insoluble in water, and globular, which are more soluble in water. A protein may have up to four levels of structure. The primary structure consists of the specific amino acid sequence. The peptide chain can form an α-helix or β-pleated sheet, which is known as secondary structure and are incorporated into the tertiary structure of the folded polypeptide. The quaternary structure describes the arrangements of subunits.
    • 4.5: Classification of Proteins
    • 4.6: Hydrolysis of Proteins
      This page looks briefly at the hydrolysis of proteins into their constituent amino acids using hydrochloric acid.
    • 4.7: Protein Purification
      A successful protein purification procedure can be nothing short of amazing. Whether you are starting off with a recombinant protein which is produced in E. coli, or trying to isolate a protein from some mammalian tissue, you are typically starting with gram quantities of a complex mixture of protein, nucleic acids, polysaccharide, etc. from which you may have to extract milligram (or microgram!) quantities of desired protein at high purity, and hopefully with high yield.
    • 4.8: Electrophoresis


    4: Amino Acids and Proteins is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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