PROTEINS

 Is a naturally occurring unbranched polymer in which the monomer units are amino
acids.
 All proteins contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen; most also
contains sulfur.
 Other elements such as phosphorus and iron are essential constituents of certain
specialized proteins.
 proteins are by far the most important of all biological compounds
 The very word “protein” is derived from the Greek proteios, meaning “of first importance.

FUNCTION OF PROTEINS:
1. Structure
- structural proteins are the chief constituents of skin, bones, hair, and nails
- two important structural proteins are collagen and keratin.
2. Catalysis
- all the reactions that take place in living organisms are catalyzed by proteins called
enzymes
- without enzymes, the reactions would take place so slowly as to be useless.
3. Movement
- Every time we crook a finger, climb stairs, or blink an eye, we use our muscles. Muscle
expansion and contraction are involved in every movement we make.
- Muscles are made up of protein molecules called myosin and actin.
4. Transport
- Large number of proteins perform transportation duties.
- For example, hemoglobin, a protein in the blood, carries oxygen from the lungs to the
cells in which it is used and carbon dioxide from the cells to the lungs. Other proteins
transport molecules across cell membranes.

5. Hormones
- Many hormones are proteins, including insulin, erythropoietin, and human growth
hormone.
6. Protection
- When a protein from an outside source or some other foreign substance (called an
antigen) enters the body, the body makes its own proteins (called antibodies) to
counteract the foreign protein.
- This antibody production is one of the major mechanisms that the body uses to fight
disease.
- Blood clotting is another protective function carried out by a protein, this one called
fibrinogen. Without blood clotting, we would bleed to death from any small wound.
7. Storage
- Some proteins store materials in the way that starch and glycogen store energy.
- For example, casein in milk and ovalbumin in eggs store nutrients for newborn
mammals and birds. Ferritin, a protein in the liver, stores iron.
8. Regulation
- Some proteins not only control the expression of genes, thereby regulating the kind of
proteins synthesized in a particular cell, but also dictate when such manufacture takes
place.

AMINO ACID
- Building blocks of protein.
- Is an organic compound that contains both an amino acid (-NH 2) group and a carboxyl
(-COOH) group.

α- amino acids
- Amino acid that is always found in proteins.
- Amino acid in which the amino group and the carboxyl group are attached to the α-
carbon atom.

Standard Amino Acid

- One of the 20 α-amino acids normally found in proteins.
- The names of standard amino acids are often abbreviated using three-letter and one-
letter code.
 Table 1: The 20 Standard Amino Acids

Four Categories of Amino Acid:

1. Nonpolar Amino Acids
- An amino acid that contains one amino group, one carboxyl group, and a nonpolar side
chain.
- Such amino acids are hydrophobic; that is they are not attracted to water molecules.
- The nonpolar amino acids are:
1. Glycine
2. Alanine
3. Valine
4. Leucine
5. Isoleucine
6. Proline
7. Phenylalanine
8. Methionine
9. Tryptophan
2. Polar Neutral Amino Acid
- An amino acid that contains one amino group, one carboxyl groups, and a side chain
that is polar but neutral.
- These amino acids are more soluble in water than the nonpolar amino acids.
- The polar neutral amino acids are:
1. Serine
2. Cysteine
3. Threonine
4. Asparagine
5. Glutamine
6. Tyrosine

3. Polar Acidic Amino Acid

- An amino acid that contains one amino group and two carboxyl group, the second
carboxyl group being part being part of the side chain.
- There are two polar acidic amino acids:
1. Aspartic acid
2. Glutamic acid

4. Polar Basic Amino Acid

- An amino acid that contains two amino groups and one carboxyl group, the second
amino group being part of the side chain.
- There are three polar basic amino acid:
1. Lysine
2. Arginine
3. Histidine
 Table 2: 3-Letter and 1-Letter Abbreviations for Amino acids

Cysteine
- The only standard amino acid that has a side chain that contains a sulfhydryl group (-
SH group).