Carboxyl Group

Name:
Carboxyl Group
Detailed information:
The chemical group characteristic of carboxylic acids which include fatty acids and amino acids. It usually occupies the terminal position in the molecule and is capable of assuming a negative charge, which makes the end of the molecule water soluble. Though it is customarily shown as either COOH or CO₂H, the structure of the group is

Thus it is composed of a carbonyl group and a hydroxyl group bonded to a carbon atom. The carbon-oxygen unsaturation within the carboxyl group is of a different order from the carbon-to-carbon unsaturation in the alkyl chain in unsaturated fatty acids. For this reason, fatty acids in which no double bond is present except that in the carboxyl group are called saturated.See Fatty Acid.