Charged:

Arginine - Arg - R
Lysine - Lys - K
Aspartic acid - Asp - D
Glutamic acid - Glu - E
Polar (may participate in hydrogen bonds):
Glutamine - Gln - Q
Asparagine - Asn - N
Histidine - His - H
Serine - Ser - S
Threonine - Thr - T
Tyrosine - Tyr - Y
Cysteine - Cys - C
Methionine - Met - M
Tryptophan - Trp - W
Hydrophobic (normally buried inside the protein core):
Alanine - Ala - A
Isoleucine - Ile - I
Leucine - Leu - L
Phenylalanine - Phe - F
Valine - Val - V
Proline - Pro - P
Glycine - Gly G
Essential Amino Acids
The essential amino acids, which are also referred to as indispensable, are the ones you must get
through the foods you eat because your body cant make them. Nine out of the 20 amino acids are
essential, but adults only need to obtain eight of them: valine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine,
phenylalanine, threonine and tryptophan. The ninth amino acid -- histidine -- is only essential for infants.
Your body doesnt store amino acids, so it needs a regular daily supply of these essential building blocks.

POLAR SIDE CHAINS

NON POLAR SIDE CHAINS

SERINE

GLYCINE

THREONINE

ALANINE

TYROSINE

CYSTEINE (1)

ASPARAGINE

VALINE

GLUTAMINE

LEUCINE

ISOLEUCINE

PROLINE

METHIONINE

PHENYLALANINE

TRYPTOPHAN

Amino acids with charged side chains

Charged side chains are POLAR.

ACIDIC SIDE CHAINS

BASIC SIDE CHAINS

ASPARTIC ACID

LYSINE

GLUTAMIC ACID

ARGININE

HISTIDIN
E

1.

(1)

Paired cysteines allow disulfide bonds to form in proteins: -CH2-S-S-CH2-