A protein is a folded polymer structure, which contains a polypeptide chain (polymer), which contains amino acids (monomers). Below are two illustrations depicting the relationship between amino acids and polypeptides. Nine of these are essential amino acids in humans because the human body cannot produce them and we obtain them from our diet. As we mentioned, there are 20 common amino acids present in proteins. Scientists use the name “amino acid” because these acids contain both an amino group and a carboxyl-acid group in their basic structure. A polypeptide folds into a 3D structure called a protein. Monomers are molecules that can bind into long chains-these long chains are called “polymers.” In other words, a polymer (“poly” = many) is made of monomers (“mono” meaning “one”).Īmino acids are the monomers that comprise polypeptides (polypeptides being the polymers).
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