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Amino Acid Designer

Beyond Nature's 20: Design Your Protein!

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What are Non-Natural Amino Acids?

Why revolutionary? Natural amino acids limit what proteins can do. Non-natural ones add: fluorescent tags for imaging, bioorthogonal chemistry (reactions that work only in living cells), protease resistance (drugs last longer), metal binding for catalysis. Trastuzumab deruxtecan (2024 FDA) uses non-natural linkers - $2B+ market!

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📚 Glossary

Amino Acid
An organic molecule containing an amino group (NH2) and a carboxyl group (COOH), serving as the building blocks of proteins. Nature uses 20 standard amino acids.
Non-Canonical Amino Acid (ncAA)
Any amino acid beyond the standard 20 encoded by the universal genetic code, designed with special chemical properties for research and medicine.
Unnatural Amino Acid (UAA)
Another term for non-canonical amino acids, emphasizing their synthetic or non-natural origin.
Click Chemistry
A class of reliable, selective chemical reactions that join molecules efficiently under mild conditions. Won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Bioorthogonal Chemistry
Chemical reactions that occur inside living systems without interfering with native biochemical processes.
Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC)
A targeted cancer therapy combining an antibody (to find cancer cells) with a cytotoxic drug (to kill them), linked by a chemical connector.
Amber Suppression
A technique that repurposes the amber stop codon (UAG) to instead encode a non-natural amino acid, expanding the genetic code.
Orthogonal tRNA
A transfer RNA that does not interact with the host cell's aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, allowing it to carry only non-natural amino acids.
Hydrophobicity
A measure of how much an amino acid avoids water; hydrophobic amino acids tend to be buried inside protein cores.
Isoelectric Point (pI)
The pH at which an amino acid or protein carries no net electrical charge.
Chirality
The property of molecules existing as non-superimposable mirror images (like left and right hands). Natural amino acids are L-form.
D-Amino Acid
The mirror-image form of a natural L-amino acid, resistant to enzymatic degradation by proteases.
Protease Resistance
The ability of a peptide or protein to resist breakdown by protease enzymes, greatly extending its lifetime in the body.
PET Imaging
Positron Emission Tomography, a medical imaging technique that uses radioactive tracers like fluorine-18 labeled amino acids.
Peptide Bond
The covalent bond formed between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another, forming the backbone of proteins.
Side Chain (R Group)
The variable group attached to the central carbon of an amino acid that determines its chemical properties and identity.
Codon
A three-nucleotide sequence in mRNA that specifies a particular amino acid during protein synthesis.
Genetic Code Expansion
Engineering organisms to incorporate additional amino acids beyond the standard 20 by adding new codon-tRNA-synthetase systems.

🏆 Key Figures

Peter Schultz (2001-present)

Pioneered genetic code expansion, enabling site-specific incorporation of non-natural amino acids into proteins using engineered tRNA/synthetase pairs

Carolyn Bertozzi (2022 Nobel)

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 for developing bioorthogonal chemistry - reactions that work inside living cells without disrupting biology

Morten Meldal (2022 Nobel)

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 for independently discovering the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) click reaction

K. Barry Sharpless (2022 Nobel (2nd))

Coined 'click chemistry' concept and shared 2022 Nobel Prize (his second Nobel) for copper-catalyzed click chemistry

Jason Chin (2019)

Created the first synthetic organism (Syn61) with a fully recoded genome, freeing codons for expanded genetic code with non-natural amino acids

Kevan Shokat (2013-present)

Used non-natural amino acid chemistry to develop covalent drugs targeting KRAS G12C, a previously 'undruggable' cancer mutation

💬 Message to Learners

{'encouragement': 'You are exploring the frontier of protein engineering - a field where human creativity extends beyond what 4 billion years of evolution achieved. The scientists who will design the next breakthrough cancer drug or create proteins with abilities nature never imagined are learning right now, just like you.', 'reminder': "Nature built all of life using only 20 amino acid letters. By adding just a few more, scientists have already created 8+ FDA-approved cancer drugs saving thousands of lives. Small additions to nature's toolkit can transform the world.", 'action': 'Start exploring! Select different amino acid types, adjust their properties, and see how the structure changes. Every great protein engineer began by understanding these building blocks.', 'dream': "Perhaps a young chemist in Lagos will design the non-natural amino acid that cures malaria. Perhaps a student in Kabul will create protease-resistant drugs that survive without refrigeration. The future of medicine belongs to those who dare to go beyond nature's 20.", 'wiaVision': "WIA Book believes that the power to design life's building blocks should belong to everyone. From Seoul to Sao Paulo, from Nairobi to Dhaka - this knowledge is your birthright. Free forever, in the spirit of Hongik-ingan."}

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