Israel Science and Technology Homepage

Biochemical Molecules : Amino Acids : Properties

To sort the list click a column heading.

TypeNameCode
(3)
Code
(1)
pK1pK2pKRMrHydro-*
Non-polarAlanine    AlaA2.39.9890.616
Charged (+)Arginine    ArgR1.89.012.51740
Polar-neutralAsparagine    AsnN2.18.81320.236
Charged (-)Aspartate    AspD2.010.03.91330.028
Polar-neutralCysteine    CysC1.910.88.31210.68
Charged (-)Glutamate    GluE2.29.74.31470.043
Polar-neutralGlutamine    GlnQ2.29.11460.251
Non-polarGlycine    GlyG2.49.8750.501
Charged (+)Histidine    HisH1.89.26.01550.165
Non-polarIsoleucine    IleI2.39.81310.943
Non-polarLeucine    LeuL2.39.71310.943
Charged (+)Lysine    LysK2.29.210.81460.283
Non-polarMethionine    MetM2.19.31490.738
AromaticPhenylalanine    PheF1.89.11651
Non-polarProline    ProP2.010.61150.711
Polar-neutralSerine    SerS2.19.21050.359
Polar-neutralThreonine    ThrT2.19.11190.45
AromaticTryptophan    TrpW2.49.42040.878
AromaticTyrosine    TyrY2.29.110.91810.88
Non-polarValine    ValV2.39.61170.825

Abbreviations and Definitions:

Mr: Relative molecular mass. Also measured in units of dalton (Da). One Da is one twelfth of the mass of the nuclide 12C.
pK1: The pK of the carboxyl group of the amino acid.
pK2: The pK of the amino group of the amino acid.
pKR: The pK of the side arm R of the amino acid. Only the specified AA's have ionizable side chains.

Reference for hydrophobicity values: Black, S.D. and Mould, D.R. (1991) Anal. Biochem. 193, 72-82.

The melting points of amino acids are in the range of 200-300°C. The melting points cannot be determined accurately as the heating of the amino acids leads to their decomposition before the melting process. The zwitterion nature of amino acids, with both positive and negative charges on the same molecule, allows tight binding of amino acids to one another by ionic interactions. Hence the breaking of these inter-molecular interactions require relatively high energy leading to high melting points.