What is a Peptide?
Peptides are compounds which are formed by linking one or more amino acids with a covalent bond. These compounds are classified as polymers, because they typically link together in long chains. All animals on Earth have peptides in their body, and in a way, peptides are one of the building blocks of life. When a peptide chain gets especially long, it turns into a protein. Peptides and proteins represent a wide world of possibilities, and many molecular biologists spend years researching the functions of single peptides and proteins to learn more about how the body works. When discussing peptides, a lot of scientific terminology tends to get thrown around, and it can help to know what various terms mean. A covalent bond is a type of chemical bond which occurs when atoms share electrons. The specific type of covalent bond formed in peptides is known as a peptide bond or amide bond, and it forms when the carboxl group of one amino acid attaches to another. Carboxyl groups are clusters of
Peptides occur naturally in the body. Like proteins, peptides are composed of amino acids. There are only 20 different amino acids in the human body and like words and sentences, different peptides and proteins in the body are comprised of different combinations and sequences of amino acids. When a chain of amino acids is over 50 acids long, it is usually called a protein, when contain less than 50 amino acids in the chain it is a peptide. So, a peptide is a portion, or a building block, of a protein. All peptides influence or direct the cells of the body in some way. Different types of peptides influence different types of cells. The peptides used in skin care are ones that communicate with and direct the skin cells to behave in a certain way, such as producing more collagen or thicken the skin. The peptides used in skin care are synthetic and they are able to enter the cells of the skin and remain intact. Because if this the future potential for the development of new peptide product
