Proteins are composed of a linear polymer of amino acids. Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group (NH3), a carboxylic acid group(R-C=O-OH) and a side-chain (usually denoted as R) that varies between different amino acids. They are particularly important in biochemistry, where the term usually refers to alpha-amino acids. Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form in a biologically functional way.