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Lec - Proteins PDF
Lec - Proteins PDF
Lec - Proteins PDF
FOLLOWING:
• With the exception of glycine, all protein-
1. Structure: Collagen and keratin are the chief derived amino acids have at least one
constituents of skin, bone, hair, and nails. stereocenter (the a-carbon) and are chiral.
• The vast majority of a-amino acids have the L-
2. Catalysts: Virtually all reactions in living systems are
configuration at the a-carbon.
catalyzed by proteins called enzymes.
8. Regulation: Certain proteins not only control the • Human basically use 20 amino acids to make
expression of genes, but also control when gene any type of protein
expression takes place.
Amino acid: A compound that contains both an amino • Zwitterion - compounds that have a positive
group and a carboxyl group. charge on one atom and a negative charge on
another
a-Amino acid: An amino acid in which the amino group
- zwitter meaning “hybrid”
is on the carbon adjacent to the carboxyl group.
• An amino acid has –COOH and –NH2 groups in
Proline – has a bond between R an N the same molecule. Therefore, in water
solution, the –COOH donates a proton to the –
R groups – determine polarity
NH2 so that an amino acid actually has the
Non-polar – hydrophobic structure:
IONIZATION VS. pH
• If we add a strong base such as NaOH to the • Acidic and base side chains (at pH 7.0)
solution and bring its pH to 14, a proton is
transferred from the NH3+ group to the base
turning the zwitterion into a negative ion.
• To summarize: