Chemical properties of alpha-amino acids : Amino acids are amphoteric in nature. Depending on the pH of the solution, the amino acid may give or accept proton.
When an ionised form of amino acid is placed in an electric field, it will travel towards the opposite charge electrode. Depending on the pH of the medium, following three things may happen
· In acidic solution (low pH), the positive ion moves towards cathode.
· In basic solution (high pH), the negative ion moves towards anode.
· The Zwitter ion does not goes towards any of the electrodes.
The intermediate pH at which the amino acid shows no tendency to migrate towards any of the electrodes and exist the equilibrium when placed in an electric field is known as isoelectric point.
This is characteristic of a given amino acid and depends on the nature of R-linked to α -carbon atom.
(i) Action of heat
(a) For α -amino acids
(b) For β-amino acids
(c) For γ and δ amino acids
These lactams have stable five or six membered rings.
(ii) α-amino acids show the reactions of -NH2 group, -COOH groups and in which both the groups are involved.
- Proline is the only normal α-amino acid which is a secondary amine.
- Only achiral α -amino acid found in protein is glycine.
(iii) Formation of proteins-peptide bond : Proteins are formed by joining the carboxyl group of one amino acid to the a-amino group of another amino acid. The bond build between two amino acids by the elimination of a water molecule is called a peptide linkage or bond. The peptide bond is simply another name for amide bond.
The product formed by linking amino acid molecules through peptide linkages, -CO-NH, is called a peptide. Peptides are further designated as tri, tetra, penta or hexa peptides accordingly as they contain three, four, five or six amino acid molecules, same or different, joined together in the following fashions.
When the number of amino molecules is large, the product is termed polypeptide which may be represented as,
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