ABSTRACT
The rst part of our book covers the fate of peptides and proteins from assembly to the degradation. Starting from the amino acid building blocks and discussing the noncovalent interactions operating within the amino acid residues, we describe the peptide and protein structural organization, attempting to present the basis for the peptide and protein function that is elaborated in more detail in the following sections. In the chapter on protein biosynthesis, the introduction of noncoded amino acids into the protein sequence via ribosome is included, as this eld is growing fast and can produce new proteins with yet unknown functions. Maturation of proteins by posttranslational modications is covered in an overview of the most common modications picked from the vast number of almost 100 known today. Protein folding is discussed in parallel with protein stability and protein sorting, showing how proteins are directed to their site of function. The section ends with a brief description of protein death and the recovery of amino acids to start a new protein and peptide life.
