BIOCHEMISTRY AND MICROBIOLOGIC

SUBJECT: AMINO-ACIDS AND PEPTIDS

Members of the group:

 BABINGUI KANI
 BATELA Venise
 POATY Gloire
 TAKA KWIMI Supervise by: Madam AGWENJANJ
Mafry TONGE
Academic year: 2022-2023
 INTRODUCTION
More than 700 amino acids have been discovered in Nature and most of
them are a-amino acids. Bacteria, fungi and algae and other plants provide
nearly all these, which exist either in the free form or bound up into larger
molecules (as constituents of peptides and proteins and other types of
amide, and of alkylated and ester-ified structures).

The twenty amino acids (actually, nineteen α-amino acids and one α-imino
acid) that are utilised in living cells for protein synthesis under the control of
genes are in a special category since they are fundamental to all life forms as
building blocks for peptides and proteins. Peptides and proteins play a wide
variety of roles in living organisms and display a range of properties (from
the potent hormonal activity of some small peptides to the structural support
and protection for the organism shown by insoluble proteins).
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PLAN

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 Definition

Amino acids: Basic unitof protein, supplied either by food or by the body proteins.

Proteins: Ordered succession of amino acids.

Peptides= <50 aa

Protein= > 50 aa
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 Structure of the amino acids

Has both an acid function and an amine function (NH2), these two functions being linked to
the same carbon atom.

R: Variable grouping specific to each amino acid which gives it its charateristics
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 Nomenclature and classification

Nomenclature

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Classification

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 Mnemotic amino acid

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stereochemistry

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ROLE :
The role of amino acids is to enable protein synthesis. They are therefore involved in the many
actions of proteins to ensure the proper functioning of the body

B. General structure of an amino acid

1. Chemical composition

An amino acid is a molecule which is most often of the form that is particularly the case at
physiological pH.
We therefore have a molecule with two ionisable groups: one acidic (COOH <-> COO - + H+), the
other basic (NH 2 + H+ <-> NH3+). The carbon atom to which the amine group - NH2 and the
carboxylic acid group - COOH are attached is conventionally called alpha carbon.
The R group corresponds to a variable radical depending on the amino acid in question. It is
therefore the group that determines the nature of the amino acid since the rest is invariant.
Note that the totally non-ionised form practically does not exist because at acidic pHs for which the
COOH function is not ionised, the NH2 function is always ionised, and conversely at basic pHs for
which the NH2 function is not ionised, the COOH function is always ionised.

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Caractéristiques chimiques

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PROPRIETES PHYSICO-CHIMIQUES Propriétés physiques:
*Solubilité: La plupart des acides aminés sont solubles dans
l’eau et les solvants tels que l’alcool (les solvants polaires)
(surtout la proline et hydroxyproline). D'autre part, les acides α-
aminés sont solubles, mais à moindre degré dans les solvants
non polaires. Il faut retenir que cette solubilité est trés
dépendante des propriétés de la chaîne latérale: la solubilité
diminue avec le nombre d'atomes de carbone du radical, mais
inversement augmente si ce radical R est porteur de fonctions
polaires (NH2, COOH) ou hydrophiles (OH). *Ionisation: Les
acides aminés contiennent un groupement carboxyle acide et
un groupement aminé basique. En solution, ces deux
groupements existent sous deux formes, l'une chargée, l'autre
neutre : R-COOH ; R-COO- + H+ ; R-NH3+ ; R-NH2 + H+ Les
acides aminés sont appelés pour cette structure diionique
amphotères. L'ionisation varie avec le pH : les acides aminés
existent, en solution aqueuse, sous 3 formes possibles :

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Physical properties:
*Light absorption
Amino acid solutions are colourless. Aromatic amino acids
absorb in the UV between 260 and 280 nm. Above 260
nm, most of the UV absorption of proteins comes from their
tryptophan and sometimes tyrosine content.
Chemical properties of amino acids
Properties due to -COOH
Esterification: Reaction with an alcohol function giving rise to
an ester
Amidation: Reaction with an amine function to form an amide
(CO-NH bond)
Salt formation: Reaction with compounds such as NaOH or
KOH, salt formation or saponification
Decarboxylation: Departure of CO
2
is removed, giving rise to an amino compound
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Uses of amino acids

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Definition
Peptides are short strings of amino acids, typically comprising 2–50 amino acids. Amino acids are also the
building blocks of proteins, but proteins contain more.

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 Structure of Peptides
The general structure of the peptide group is rigid and planar. The stability of a peptide bond is because of the resonance of the
amide. A resonance structure forms due to the interaction between electrons of the carbonyl group’s double bond with those of
the C–N bond.

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 Nomenclature and classification

Peptide chains are vectored: peptide bonds attach amino acids

in a specific order.attach the amino acids in a specific order. The
conventions are as follows:the amino acids involved in a
peptide chain are calledresidues. Their name is that of the
amino acid to which is added the suffixyl.the two amino acids
at the ends of the chain are calledcalled: N-terminal for the one
that has its free α-amino functionand C-terminal for the one
with its free α-COOH functionthe amino acids are numbered by
writing the sequence from left to right from the from left to
right from the N-terminalTranslated with
www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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 Uses
Some peptides of biological interest
These are peptides that participate in the structure of membranes as building blocks
They play important roles in biological activities.  Electron donor or acceptor
Here are some examples:
Antioxidant system
Glutathione
- Participates in oxidation-reduction reactions

Peptide antibiotics
- Produced by microorganisms
- Bacteriostatic effect: limits the growth of
bacteria
- Bactericidal effect: kills bacteria
- Examples
- Gramicidins, polymyxins, bacitracin,

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EXAMPLES OF SOME PEPTIDES
1. Small peptides
Aspartame Asp-Phe-O-CH3
Sweetening power 2x that of sucrose
2. Hormonal peptides
Post-pituitary hormones Oxytocin, Vasopressin
Pancreatic hormones Glucagon, Insulin
3. Antibiotic peptides Tyrocidin A Penicillins

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Formation of peptides

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Conclusion
Knowledge of amino acids is important because they are the
basis for the construction of proteins, a major class of living
macromolecules. However, their individual properties can be
more or less strongly modified depending on their
environment. At the extreme, the carboxylic acid and amine
functions carried by the alpha carbon are almost all mobilised
by peptide bonds. In a more subtle way, the charge of histidine
can vary according to its microenvironment, its pHi being close
to the physiological pH, hence its use in the active site of
certain enzymes. There are also many examples of chemical
modification taking place after translation and modifying the
properties described. While knowledge of the amino acid
repertoire is essential for understanding biochemistry, it does
not obviate the need to study the many special cases of
polymers of these molecules, namely peptides and proteins.

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