asked 14.4k views
4 votes
Which amino acid does not have an L/D Isomer?

1 Answer

6 votes

Final answer:

Glycine is the only amino acid without an L/D isomer because its α-carbon is not chiral, making it identical to its mirror image.

Step-by-step explanation:

The amino acid that does not have an L/D Isomer is glycine. Unlike the other amino acids, glycine's α-carbon is not chiral, meaning it does not have a mirror image in the form of enantiomers. Therefore, it cannot exist as D-glycine or L-glycine because both of these forms would be identical. The rest of the proteinogenic amino acids can exist as L- and D-forms with naturally occurring amino acids usually in the L-configurations used to make proteins, except for glycine which is nonchiral.

answered
User Joel Min
by
8.2k points

No related questions found

Welcome to Qamnty — a place to ask, share, and grow together. Join our community and get real answers from real people.