Amino acid

An organic compound containing amino and carboxyl groups. Amino acids build proteins and also function in metabolism, signaling, and other biological processes.

Carboxylic acid: An organic compound containing a carboxyl group, typically written as –COOH. Its carboxyl group is one of the two defining functional groups in amino acids.
Isoelectric point: The pH at which a molecule has zero average net electrical charge. It describes the pH-dependent charge balance of an amino acid.
Essential amino acid: An amino acid that an organism cannot synthesize in sufficient amounts and must obtain from its diet. Humans must obtain nine amino acids from food to support protein synthesis.
Non-proteinogenic amino acid: An amino acid that is not incorporated into proteins by standard ribosomal translation. This distinguishes the broader biological amino-acid family from the standard protein-building set.
Amine: An organic compound derived from ammonia by replacing one or more hydrogen atoms with organic groups. Amino acids contain an amino group, though its protonation depends on pH.
Acid–base chemistry: The study of proton transfer between acids and bases. Amino acids gain or lose protons at their ionizable groups as pH changes.
Branched-chain amino acid: Leucine, isoleucine, and valine, whose side chains contain branched aliphatic groups. These dietary amino acids are metabolized substantially in muscle.
Selenocysteine: A selenium-containing amino acid incorporated into certain proteins by a specialized translation mechanism. It is a rare exception to the usual set of 20 standard amino acids.
Chirality: The property of a structure that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image. Most protein-building amino acids have a chiral alpha carbon, giving rise to L and D forms.
Aminoacyl-tRNA: A transfer RNA molecule covalently attached to its corresponding amino acid. Aminoacyl-tRNA delivers each amino acid to the ribosome during translation.

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