The Chemistry of the Proteins and Amino Acids

Abstract

In order to eliminate the confusion in the nomenclature of the natural amino acids and of the compounds and derivatives of these acids, a group of American chemists under the leadership of Vick ery have worked out new rules for the nomenclature of natural amino acids and related substances. During the work of the com mittee, British chemists and carbohydrate chemists were consulted. Since the middle of 1947 the new rules have been adopted in the English speaking world (1, 2). The new nomenclature has also been used in this review.For the proteins no new rules have been agreed upon since the "Joint Recommendations of the Physiological and Biochemical Committees on Protein Nomenclature" was published forty years ago (3) . Some of the inconsistencies in this old classification of albumins and globulins have been pointed out by Jacobsen, who proposes to define globulins as unconjugated, globular proteins which can form two-phase systems with aqueous solutions at the isoelectric point, and albumins as unconjugated, globular proteins which cannot form such systems (4).Regarding the plasma proteins the confusion in the nomen clature is most pronounced. A number of different systems has been used in order to designate the various protein fractions ob tained by the numerous methods of preparation based on differ ences in solubility which were worked out during the last fifty years [(5) pp. 52-57]. Then ten years ago, Tiselius introduced a �ew nomenclature, viz. , a-, (3-, and 'Y-gl obulin for the serum globulins based on their different electrophoretic mobilities at pH values near 8 (6). Refinements in the electrophoresis technique soon made it evident that the a-, (3-, and 'Y-globulins represented groups of protein with mobilities close together . The imposing development in plasma fractionation during and after the war has also resulted in the isolation and characterization of a number of new plasma proteins (7). The individual molecular constants of two a-globulins, 1 Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1948.17:169-200. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by University of California -Davis on 02/07/15. For personal use only.Quick links to online content Further ANNUAL REVIEWS