Additionally, amino acids can be linked together in different combinations to create shorter (peptides) and longer (proteins) chains. Both fulfil a variety of different vital functions in the human body: Collagen, for instance, is the most frequently occurring protein in the human body. It is composed of three intertwined chains (triple helix) to lend structure to connective tissue. Simply for spatial arrangement reasons in this protein the smallest amino acid, glycine (Fig 1b), is the main component.
The water solubility of amino acids also makes them an attractive choice for the hydrophilic part of surfactants. When an amino acid is linked with a triglyceridederived fatty acid (e. g. from coconut oil), surfactants (N-acyl derivatives, “amino acid surfactants“, Fig 2a) exclusively based on natural components are created. When the amino acid is produced via a fermentation process starting from glucose or its derivatives, the surfactants even are completely co
