Amino Acids

Amino acids, as their name suggest, contain an amino group and an acid group.

Glycine, simplest of all amino acids

Different amino acids have a different group of atoms sticking out of the top. In glycine there is just one atom in this group, a single hydrogen atom.

More than 100 amino acids occur in bacteria and plants, but only about 20 are commonly found in most animal proteins.

A more complex amino acid, tyrosine

On the left you can still see the amino and acid groups, but instead of glycine's single hydrogen atom, tyrosine has a larger group of atoms (shown on right).

Each of the 20 common amino acids has a different group of atoms attached to the amino and acid backbone.