Amino Acids and Peptides

For a comprehensive listing of information about the twenty common amino acids consult the amino acids page at the Free University of Berlin .

If you have MAGE installed, and have configured your Browser to run MAGE whenever it downloads a file with the extension .kin, then you may find it useful to view the ProTeach Lesson on Amino Acids . If this does not work for you, and when you select one of these you get the actual kinemage "script" file filling your screen, simply save the file to your local computer with a .kin extension, and then run MAGE locally, selecting this saved file.

If you have made your Browser Chime-compatable, then by clicking on each amino acid below you may bring that molecule into your chime window for analysis. You may find the Labels option useful as you learn your way around the molecules.

glycine	L-alanine	L-isoleucine	L-leucine	L-proline	L-valine
L-asparagine	L-glutamine	L-cysteine	L-methionine	L-serine	L-threonine
L-arginine	L-lysine	L-histidine	L-phenylalanine	L-tryptophan	L-tyrosine
L-aspartate	L-glutamate	Amino_Acid Grouping by Side Chain Characteristics ***********Aliphatic*********** ********Hydroxilic/Sulfur Containing/Amidic******** *************Basic************* *************Aromatic************* ************Acidic************

Excellent tutorials on Amino Acids and their properties can be found in the introduction to Birkbeck College's Principles of Protein Structure Using the Internet (PPS).

These include:

• Diagrams of the 20 amino acids ,provided by PPS student Jens Loesel (Thymine Group).
• A tutorial on the amino acids by Sami Raza.
• Amino acid side chains in 4 easy parts , by PPS Consultant Alan Ward, Newcastle University Department of Microbiology. This material also includes an interactive Kinemage.
• The different roles amino acids play within proteins .

Prepared for George Mason University course Chemistry 663,
© 1998-2000, George Mason University

Last updated August 10, 2000
Direct comments on this web page to Dave Keefe