General Properties Of Proteins Flashcards
What are proteins made of?
Amino acids
Which 4 elements are always present in proteins?
Carbon
Nitrogen
Hydrogen
Oxygen
How many different amino acids are there commonly found in organisms?
20
In what 4 ways are amino acids the same?
Amino group
Central carbon
Hydrogen atom
carboxyl group
In what ways are amino acids different?
Variable group
When R= H what is the amino acid called?
Glycine
When R= CH3 what is the amino acid called?
Alanine
Primary structure
The number and sequence of amino acids
What is the name of the bond that joins 2 amino acids together?
Peptide bond
What causes a chain of amino acids to fold?
Positive and negative charges on the r groups of different amino acids cause unlike charges to attract each other
Features of r groups of amino acids
- Can be positively or negatively charged
- can be hydrophobic or hydrophilic
- they have a second amine or carbonyl group in their r group
How can we use the properties of the r groups of amino acids to separate out individual amino acids when they are in a mixture?
Chromatography
How can we identify the separated amino acids on a chromatogram?
Calculate the retardation factor
Secondary structure
The folding of polypeptide chains due to hydrogen bonds forming between the -NH and =O of peptide bonds between amino acids
Alpha helix
Beta pleating
Tertiary structure
Polypeptide chain can be further folded to form a more complex, specific, SD structure
Hydrogen bonds, disulfide bridges and ionic bonds → mainly between r groups of different amino acids in the chain
