L-Proline is one of the twenty amino acids (formerly, proline was misleadingly called an imino acid) that are used by living organisms as a building block of proteins (so called proteinogenic amino acids).
In proteins, proline can act as a structural disruptor for (α) helices, and as a turning point in β sheets. Multiple prolines in a row can create a proline helix. Sequences of proline and 1-Aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) form a helical turn structure.
Incorporated into peptides proline forms a tertiary amide. It does not have a hydrogen on the amide group and can therefore not act as a hydrogen bond donor.
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- See also : biochemistry