Amino acids are the monomers that comprise proteins. Each amino acid has the same fundamental structure, which consists of a central carbon atom, or the alpha (α) carbon, bonded to an amino group (NH2), a carboxyl group (COOH), and to a hydrogen atom. Every amino acid also has another atom or group of atoms bonded to the central atom known as the R group. There are 20 common amino acids present in proteins, each with a different R group. Variation in the amino acid sequence is responsible for...

This lesson delves into the concept of protection and deprotection of a functional group fundamental to synthetic organic chemistry. These phenomena are explained in the context of aliphatic and aromatic alcohols.
Protection
It defines a protecting group as the masking agent to make the more reactive species inert to a given set of conditions. This concept is depicted via the illustration of liquid flow through different outlets in an assembly of pipes. The analogy helps to understand the role...

Protecting groups are compounds that can bind to a specific functional group in the presence of other functional groups to protect them from undesired chemical reactions. These compounds can selectively bind to particular functional groups and advance chemoselective reactions in polyfunctional systems (Figure 1). After the functional group has served its purpose, it is removed by reacting it with specific compounds.

Acetals are formed by reacting two equivalents of alcohol with carbonyl compounds like aldehydes or ketones. Acetals are unaffected by bases, nucleophiles, oxidizing agents, and reducing agents. They serve as protecting groups for aldehydes and ketones. Acetals can be easily formed and also easily removed via mild acid hydrolysis.
In the presence of multiple functional groups, when selective reduction of one group over the other is desired, groups like aldehydes and ketones that form acetals...

Proteins are polymers of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Proteins and polypeptides are interchangeably used to refer to long chains of amino acids. However, polypeptides have a molecular weight of fewer than 10,000 daltons, while proteins have greater molecular weight.  Polypeptides with less than 20 amino acids are called oligopeptides or simply peptides. Interactions among the constituent amino acid side chains of proteins help them fold into a stable 3-dimensional structure...

Overview