Abstract
Peptides are open-chain polymers made up of amino acids (Fig. 10.1). The main chain is made up of alternating amide groups ―CONH― and aliphatic carbon atoms, which are labeled C α . The side chains branch from the main chain at the C α atom. The amide group is barely flexible (Sect. 14.1). In contrast, a rotation around the C α –C β bond is possible. The side chains are flexible as well. Because of this, each amino acid can take on multiple conformations. As a consequence, peptides are very flexible molecules with many rotatable bonds and a multitude of possibilities to adopt different spatial configurations. Formally, there is no difference between the construction of peptides and proteins. Nonetheless, oligomers of amino acids up to a size of 30―50 monomer building blocks are called peptides, and the term protein is preferred for any members of this substance class that are above this limit.
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Klebe, G. (2013). Peptidomimetics. In: Klebe, G. (eds) Drug Design. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17907-5_10
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