Amino acid structure
Amino acid structure
Formula
H₂N−CHR−COOH
Real World
The 20 standard amino acids in human proteins all share the same H₂N−CHR−COOH backbone — pharmaceutical company GSK uses this structure when designing peptide-based drugs.
Exam Focus
Remember all amino acids except glycine (R = H) are chiral — if asked to identify the chiral centre, mark the carbon bonded to four different groups.
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