---
title: "D-amino acid: research glossary | Sable Peptides"
description: "A D-amino acid is the mirror-image form (enantiomer) of the more common L-amino acid. Substituting D-residues into a peptide can change its three-dimension"
canonical: https://www.sablepeptides.co.uk/glossary/d-amino-acid
publisher: Sable Peptides Limited (UK company 17488610)
note: Research use only. Not for human or veterinary use.
---

Glossary

# D-amino acid

A D-amino acid is the mirror-image form (enantiomer) of the more common L-amino acid. Substituting D-residues into a peptide can change its three-dimensional structure and makes it much less recognisable to most proteases, increasing stability in biological matrices. Retro-inverso peptides use D-amino acids in reversed sequence order to mimic side-chain topology of the parent.

Source: [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amino_acid#Isomerism)

## Related terms

-   [Peptide](/glossary/peptide)
-   [Amino acid](/glossary/amino-acid)
-   [Sequence](/glossary/sequence)
-   [Enantiomer](/glossary/enantiomer)

[Back to glossary A–Z](/glossary/terms)

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