Peptide

Peptides are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. A polypeptide is a longer, continuous, unbranched peptide chain. Polypeptides that have a molecular mass of 10,000 Da or more are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides.

Amino acids comprise peptides as residues. Peptides are usually linear polymers with a free amine at one end (the so-called N-terminus) and a carboxyl group at the other (the C-terminus). Macrocyclic peptides are a distinct class.