Medically reviewed by Suzanne Fisher, RD Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Proteins and the amino acids they ...

Amino acids are characterized by their central carbon atom, known as the α-carbon, which is bonded to an amino group (-NH2), a carboxyl group (-COOH), a hydrogen atom, and a variable side chain ...

carbon atom linked to an amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a variable component called a side chain (see below). Within a protein, multiple amino acids are linked together by ...

Chemically, an amino acid is a molecule that has a carboxylic acid group and an amine group that are each attached to a carbon atom called the α carbon. Each of the 20 amino acids has a specific ...

Researchers are most interested in adding functional molecules to the N-terminus, or the end of a peptide with a free amine ...