Aspartic Acid and Proline are both part of the 20 basic amino acids. Describe their similarities and differences in terms of their properties.

As we know there are 20 fundamental amino acids used for protein synthesis. Both Aspartic Acid and Proline are such amino acids. They are composed of the typical amino acid carbon skeleton (R-CH-COOH) and of an additional amino group (NH2) attached to the central C. Despite this similarity, Aspartate is charged, unlike Proline, and bears a negative charge. That means that it contains a carboxylic grout in the form COO-. On the other hand, Proline is uncharged. Another difference between the two, as already mentioned, are their side chains (represented by R). Unlike Aspartic Acid, Proline does not contain a carboxyl group but has instead a carbon chain forming a ring that links the central C with the amino NH2 group. This brings us to the last major difference between the two which is that of their structure. Proline, in contrast with all the other 19 amino acids, does not confer to the typical tetrahedral basic structure but it instead forms a ring that is unable to form proper peptide bonds.