- Carboxyl group
Carboxyl group or CO2H is a
functional group present inamino acid s andcarboxylic acid s. Its structure is composed of one carbon atom attached to an oxygen atom by adouble bond and to ahydroxyl group by asingle bond . It is often mentioned that a carboxyl group is acarbonyl group bonded to ahydroxyl group. The carboxyl group has onevalence electron in its carbon atom, making it possible to be a part in a largermolecule by bonding through it. Carboxyl groups can only occur at the end of a carbon chain, because the carbon must make 3 bonds (O double bond and single bond to hydroxyl group) in addition to its connection to the R group.Carboxyl groups will often lend their OH H+ into solution and therefore will act as acids. This is the case with carboxylic acids, such as is the case when
acetic acid lends its H+ into solution to becomeacetate .See also
*
Amino acid
*Carboxylic acid References
* [http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/C/carboxyl.html Entry from the Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight] .
* [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-carbxylgr.html Highbeam Encyclopedia] .
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.