CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

phenylalanine    →   fenilalanin

Phenylalanine is hydrophobic amino acids with aromatic side chain. It is quite hydrophobic and even the free amino acid is not very soluble in water. Phenylalanine is large aromatic residue that is normally found buried in the interior of a protein and is important for protein stability. It is an essential amino acid, which means that humans cannot synthesize it, so it must be ingested.

• Abbreviations: Phe, F
• IUPAC name: 2-amino-3-phenylpropanoic acid
• Molecular formula: C₉H₁₁NO₂
• Molecular weight: 165.19 g/mol

polysaccharide    →   polisaharid

Polysaccharides are compounds consisting of a large number of simple sugars (monosaccharides) linked together by glycosidic bonds. When polysaccharides are composed of a single monosaccharide building block, they are termed homopolysaccharides. Heteropolysaccharides contain two or more different types of monosaccharide. Polysaccharides may have molecular weights of up to several million and are often highly branched. Since they have only the one free anomeric -OH group at the end of a very long chain, polysaccharides aren’t reducing sugars and don’t show noticeable mutarotation. The most common polysaccharides are cellulose, starch, and glycogen.

polystyrene    →   polistiren

Polystyrene is a vinyl polymer. Structurally, it is a long hydrocarbon chain, with a phenyl group attached to every other carbon atom. Polystyrene is produced by free radical vinyl polymerization, from the monomer styrene. Polystyrene or Styrofoam is used in the construction industry as insulating material and for production of containers.

saturated fatty acid    →   zasićena masna kiselina

Saturated fatty acid is a fatty acid carrying the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms (It doesn’t have any double bounds in the alkyl chain). The most important of these are:

thermosetting plastic    →   termostabilna plastika

Thermosetting plastics (thermosets) refer to a range of polymer materials that cure, through the addition of energy, to a stronger form. The energy may be in the form of heat (rubber), through a chemical reaction (two part epoxy), or irradiation. Thermoset materials are usually liquid or malleable prior to curing, and designed to be molded into their final form, or used as adhesive.

Thermoset polymer resins transformed into plastics or rubbers by cross-linking into a rigid, 3-D structure. A thermoset material cannot be melted and re-molded after it is cured.

tryptophan    →   triptofan

Tryptophan is hydrophobic amino acids with aromatic side chain. Tryptophan is large aromatic residue that is normally found buried in the interior of a protein and is important for protein stability. Tryptophan has the largest side chain and is the least common amino acid in proteins. It has spectral properties that make it the best inherent probe for following protein folding and conformational changes associated with biochemical processes. It is an essential amino acid, which means that humans cannot synthesize it, so it must be ingested.

• Abbreviations: Trp, W
• IUPAC name: 2-amino-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)propanoic acid
• Molecular formula: C₁₁H₁₂N₂O₂
• Molecular weight: 204.23 g/mol

tyrosine    →   tirozin

Tyrosine is hydrophobic amino acids with aromatic side chain. Tyrosine is large aromatic residue that is normally found buried in the interior of a protein and is important for protein stability. Tyrosine has special properties since its hydroxyl side chain may function as a powerful nucleophile in an enzyme active site (when ionized) and is a common site for phosphorylation in cell signaling cascades. Tyrosine absorbs ultraviolet radiation and contributes to the absorbance spectra of proteins. It is not essential (or semi-essential) to the human diet, since it is synthesized in the body from other metabolites.

• Abbreviations: Tyr, Y
• IUPAC name: 2-amino-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid
• Molecular formula: C₉H₁₁NO₃
• Molecular weight: 181.19 g/mol

unsaturated fatty acid    →   nezasićena masna kiselina

Unsaturated fatty acid is a fatty acid whose carbon chain can absorb additional hydrogen atoms. Their carbon chain has one or more double or triple valence bond per molecule. The most important of these are: