Proteins, Amino Acids, and Polypeptides

Proteins are built from amino acids and form polypeptides. Amino acids are the small building blocks, and a polypeptide is a chain of amino acids joined together. This basic relationship explains how proteins are made and why their structure matters.

Proteins have several important roles in livin...

A protein is a chain of amino acids, compounds that contain amine and carboxyl groups, along with different side groups denoted as R, attached to a core carbon. Amino acids are linked through covalent peptide bonds, and the repeating series of atoms along the core is called the polypeptide backbone.

The sequence begins at the N-terminus,...