Is tryptophan an aromatic amino acid?
February 20th, 2023
Yes, tryptophan is an aromatic amino acid.
An aromatic amino acid is an amino acid that contains an aromatic ring.
The structure of tryptophan is
The sidechain is an indole group.
It consists of a benzene ring fused to a pyrrole ring.
The ##”N”## atom is ##”sp”^2## hybridized, so its two lone pair electrons plus the 8 electrons from the ##”C”## atoms make an aromatic 10 π system.
That makes tryptophan an aromatic amino acid.