amino-acid residue

in a polypeptide
Also contains definition of: N-terminal residue in a polypeptide
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.A00279
When two or more amino acids combine to form a @P04479@, the elements of water are removed, and what remains of each amino acid is called an amino-acid residue. α-Amino-acid residues are therefore structures that lack a hydrogen atom of the amino group (
–NH–CHR–COOH
), or the hydroxyl @M03968@ of the carboxyl group (
NH2–CHR–CO–
), or both (
–NH–CHR–COO–
); all units of a peptide chain are therefore amino-acid residues. (Residues of amino acids that contain two amino groups or two carboxyl groups may be joined by @I03303@, and so may not have the formulas shown.) The residue in a peptide that has an amino group that is free, or at least not acylated by another amino-acid residue (it may, for example, be acylated or formylated), is called N-terminal; it is at the N-terminus. The residue that has a free carboxyl group, or at least does not acylate another amino-acid residue, (it may, for example, acylate ammonia to give
–NH–CHR–CO–NH2
), is called C-terminal.
Source:
White Book, 2nd ed., p. 48 [Terms] [Book]
Citation: 'amino-acid residue' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 3rd ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2006. Online version 3.0.1, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.A00279 RIS BibTex EndNote
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Last revised: February 24, 2014