The first few amino acids were discovered in the early 1800s. In 1806, French chemists Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin and Pierre Jean Robiquet isolated a compound from asparagus that was subsequently named

The ca. 20 canonical amino acids can be classified according to their properties. Important factors are charge, hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity, size, and functional groups. These properties

Amino acids which have the amine group attached to the (alpha-) carbon atom next to the carboxyl group have primary importance in living

Chemical synthesis
The commercial production of amino acids usually relies on mutant bacteria that overproduce individual amino acids using glucose as a carbon

In the structure shown at the top of the page R represents a side chain specific to each amino acid. The carbon atom next to the carboxyl group is called the α–carbon. Amino acids containing an amino group bonded directly to the α-carbon are referred to as α-amino

Amino acids are used for a variety of applications in industry, but their main use is as additives to animal feed. This is necessary, since many of the bulk components of these

Amino acids undergo the reactions expected of the constituent functional groups.
Peptide bond formation
As both the amine and carboxylic acid groups of amino acids can react to form amide bonds, one amino