Aspartic acid is an amino acid containing an extra carboxylic acid group.
It may also be described as 2-aminobutanedioic acid.
Like all amino acids, it has an amino group (-NH
2) - blue with 2 white balls - at one end, and a carboxylic acid group (-COOH) - grey, connected to red, and red and white - at the other end. These groups are used to link onto other amino acids by peptide bonds. Between these is the
α- (alpha) carbon to which the 'R' group is attached.
Its 'R' group is -(CH
2)-COOH, a methyl group with
another carboxylic acid group (-COOH) attached - grey, with red and red and white - at the other end of the molecule.
This extra carboxylic acid group on its R group gives it has extra acidic characteristics. The acid group can ionise and interact with other R groups within a polypeptide chain.
Click below to highlight parts of molecule