Amino Acid - General Structure

General Structure

In the structure shown at the top of the page, R represents a side-chain specific to each amino acid. The carbon atom next to the carboxyl group is called the α–carbon and amino acids with a side-chain bonded to this carbon are referred to as alpha amino acids. These are the most common form found in nature. In the alpha amino acids, the α–carbon is a chiral carbon atom, with the exception of glycine. In amino acids that have a carbon chain attached to the α–carbon (such as lysine, shown to the right) the carbons are labeled in order as α, β, γ, δ, and so on. In some amino acids, the amine group is attached to the β or γ-carbon, and these are therefore referred to as beta or gamma amino acids.

Amino acids are usually classified by the properties of their side-chain into four groups. The side-chain can make an amino acid a weak acid or a weak base, and a hydrophile if the side-chain is polar or a hydrophobe if it is nonpolar. The chemical structures of the 22 standard amino acids, along with their chemical properties, are described more fully in the article on these proteinogenic amino acids.

The phrase "branched-chain amino acids" or BCAA refers to the amino acids having aliphatic side-chains that are non-linear; these are leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Proline is the only proteinogenic amino acid whose side-group links to the α-amino group and, thus, is also the only proteinogenic amino acid containing a secondary amine at this position. In chemical terms, proline is, therefore, an imino acid, since it lacks a primary amino group, although it is still classed as an amino acid in the current biochemical nomenclature, and may also be called an "N-alkylated alpha-amino acid".