Chemistry 451

Lecture #5: Amino Acids

Read:

Review (remember):

HW (Due Wednesday at end of class)

Objectives:

  1. Develop a mental image of a protein (3-D polymers of amino acids)
  2. Know names, three-letter abbreviations and structures for the 20 standard amino acids. (especially histadine, cysteine, phenylalanine, glutamine, glutamate and lysine).
  3. Identify amino acids as nonpolar, polar/uncharged or polar/charged.
  4. Be able to draw a peptide given names and sequence of amino acids.
  5. Draw a zwitterion.
  6. Draw a titration curve for any amino acid given its pK's, calculate pI where pI = ½(pKi + pKj); (pg. 84).
  7. Calculate [A-] and [AH] given pK and pH.
  8. Draw configuration of L and D amino acids (note: L¹ levorotary).
  9. Know that proteins are the workhorses of biochemistry. Protein form equals function. Amino acid structure determines protein structure and therefore function.