Two individual amino acids can be linked to form a larger molecule, with the loss of a water molecule as a by-product of the reaction. Here is a textual representation of such a reaction.
The newly created C-N bond between the two separate amino acids is called a peptide bond. The term 'peptide bond' implies the existence of the peptide group which is commonly written in text as -CONH- .
Two molecules linked by a peptide bond become what is called a dipeptide. A chain of molecules linked by peptide bonds is called a polypeptide.
A protein is made up of one or more polypeptide chains, each of which consists of amino acids which have been mentioned earlier.
Go To Overview