The side-by-side format of this page allows you to compare and contrast the different side-chain features.
Additional information for each amino acid is included below the image in each display frame. (Click on the one-letter code for each.)
Some suggestions for pairs of amino acids to compare:
The last six entries in the selection lists are peptides. In addition to highlighting features of the peptide bond, these models serve as a review of amino acid side-chain structures. Hydrogen atoms have been omitted from the peptide structures for clarity.
NETSCAPE navigation tips:
To go back to any image you have already seen, click-and-hold in the current frame and choose "Back".
The frames can be resized by placing the mouse on the borders and dragging.
If a change in the selection form does not result in a new image from this page, check to see that JavaScript has not been "disabled" (Navigator 4.x: choose "Preferences..." and then "Advanced" under the Netscape Edit menu; Navigator 3.x: choose "Network preferences..." and then "Languages" under the Netscape Options menu.).
See the CMU Chime Features page, for a short demonstration on how this plug-in is used with the molecular models shown here.
Back to Structures of Building Blocks