Chemistry

Amino Acid

Amino acids are the monomers that make up peptides and proteins. There are twenty standard amino acids, and the order in which they are strung together determines a peptide’s structure and how it interacts with biological targets.

A peptide’s name and sequence are effectively its fingerprint — changing even one amino acid produces a different molecule with different properties.

Related terms

← Back to the glossary, or explore the Education library.