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Amino acid

Amino acids are the small building blocks that proteins and peptides are made from. Your body uses 20 different kinds, joined in chains like beads on a string. The order of the beads decides what the finished molecule looks like and what it does.

For experts

An amino acid is the fundamental unit of proteins; 20 standard amino acids are encoded by the genetic code. A protein consists of one or more chains (polypeptides) whose sequence determines its three-dimensional structure and function. Drug designers sometimes substitute or add non-standard amino acids and side chains to make peptide drugs more stable.

Sources (3)

  1. 01Amino Acids (Talking Glossary of Genomic and Genetic Terms)National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) · 2026-09-29 · accessed 2026-09-29
  2. 02What are proteins and what do they do?MedlinePlus Genetics, U.S. National Library of Medicine · 2021-03-26 · accessed 2026-09-29
  3. 03Discovery of the Once-Weekly Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Analogue SemaglutideJournal of Medicinal Chemistry (indexed in PubMed, NCBI/NLM) · 2015-09-24 · accessed 2026-09-29