Asparagine is an amino acid containing an amide group. It is effectively aspartic acid with the -OH group on its acidic side chain replaced by an extra amino group. It is also known as 2-Amino-3-carbamoylpropanoic 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)-CO-NH
2, a methyl group with an amide group attached. An amide group is a carbonyl group (-C=O) - grey, with red - attached to another amino group - blue with 2 whites - at the other end of the molecule.
Click below to highlight parts of molecule