The structure of proteins is primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Proteins are made up of little units called amino acids. Amino Acids have a two-carbon bond and are made up of three parts. The three parts to an amino acid are amino group, carboxylic acid group, and an R group. Proteins are considered one of the most adaptable molecules throughout the human body and are needed for various things. Some of the things proteins are needed for are making structural tissues, creating hormones, DNA codes, Amino acids are genetically made and are used as the building blocks for proteins that your body needs to function properly. Amino acids are also used as an intermediate in metabolism. The human body itself produces ten of the twenty essential amino acids that are needed.

The ten amino acids we produce automatically throughout our body is Alanine, Asparagine, Aspartic acid, Cysteine, Glutamic acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Serine, and Tyrosine. The remaining ten amino acids that the body does not produce must be supplied through foods. If you do not produce enough amino acids even one of the ten we produce, the body’s muscle that live off the proteins will start to degrade. Amino acids is not something that the human body will store for a certain period of time, this is something we have to eat on a daily basis. The very specific amino acid content, and the order of the amino acids, is controlled by the order of the origins in the gene that specifically encodes the protein. This field of proteins and its stability has been an ongoing project that has been researched for years trying to just get down the basics of the understanding. By understanding amino acids structure, you will then have in return the knowledge of protein structure.

Saladin,K S., Sullivan, S.J., & Gan, C.A. (n.d.) Anatomy & physiology: The unity of form and function.

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