3-D Structure of Amino Acids

Shown below are the structures of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids. By selecting any structure with the pointer, it should be possible to rotate these molecules. Pressing the right button on the pointer should also bring up a menu of options to change the display of any molecule. A key to the colors used for each atom in these pictures is given at the top-right of each section.

A simple line drawing of all 20 amino acids is also available. It is easier to classify the structure of the side chains in this two-dimensional image.

Selecting the name of any amino acid causes a pop-up window to appear that contains a brief summary of each amino acid, including pK_a values. A complete list of pK_a values is also available.

Non-Polar Neutral		C H N O S

Glycine	Alanine	Valine

Leucine	Isoleucine	Proline

Phenylalanine	Tryptophan	Methionine

	Cysteine

Polar Neutral		C H N O S

Serine	Threonine	Tyrosine

Asparagine	Glutamine

Basic		C H N O S

Arginine	Histidine	Lysine

Acidic	C H N O S

Aspartate	Glutamate