- Codon(s) – Grapheme triplet(s)
- 3-letter & 1-letter amino acid code
- Chemical formula
- ASCII structural diagram
- Semantic note (role in protein synthesis)
This will be a complete grapheme → lexeme → chemistry mapping for all 64 codons.
Phenylalanine (Phe, F) — C₉H₁₁NO₂
Codons: UUU, UUC
Formula: C₉H₁₁NO₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–(benzene ring)
Semantic: Aromatic, hydrophobic; often found in protein cores.
Leucine (Leu, L) — C₆H₁₃NO₂
Codons: UUA, UUG, CUU, CUC, CUA, CUG
Formula: C₆H₁₃NO₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–CH–CH3
|
CH3
Semantic: Hydrophobic; common in α-helices.
Isoleucine (Ile, I) — C₆H₁₃NO₂
Codons: AUU, AUC, AUA
Formula: C₆H₁₃NO₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH–CH3
|
CH2–CH3
Semantic: Hydrophobic; branched-chain core stabilizer.
Methionine (Met, M) — C₅H₁₁NO₂S
Codons: AUG (Start codon)
Formula: C₅H₁₁NO₂S
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–CH2–S–CH3
Semantic: Start codon; sulfur-containing methyl donor.
Valine (Val, V) — C₅H₁₁NO₂
Codons: GUU, GUC, GUA, GUG
Formula: C₅H₁₁NO₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH–CH3
|
CH3
Semantic: Hydrophobic; tight packing in protein interiors.
Serine (Ser, S) — C₃H₇NO₃
Codons: UCU, UCC, UCA, UCG, AGU, AGC
Formula: C₃H₇NO₃
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–OH
Semantic: Polar; site for phosphorylation.
Proline (Pro, P) — C₅H₉NO₂
Codons: CCU, CCC, CCA, CCG
Formula: C₅H₉NO₂
NH
|
C–C–COOH
| |
CH2–CH2–CH2
\________/
Semantic: Rigid; introduces kinks in peptide chains.
Threonine (Thr, T) — C₄H₉NO₃
Codons: ACU, ACC, ACA, ACG
Formula: C₄H₉NO₃
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH(OH)–CH3
Semantic: Polar; phosphorylation site.
Alanine (Ala, A) — C₃H₇NO₂
Codons: GCU, GCC, GCA, GCG
Formula: C₃H₇NO₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH3
Semantic: Small, nonpolar; versatile.
Tyrosine (Tyr, Y) — C₉H₁₁NO₃
Codons: UAU, UAC
Formula: C₉H₁₁NO₃
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–(benzene–OH)
Semantic: Aromatic; phosphorylation target in signaling.
Histidine (His, H) — C₆H₉N₃O₂
Codons: CAU, CAC
Formula: C₆H₉N₃O₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–(imidazole ring)
/N\
| |
C C–NH
\\ //
N
Semantic: Catalytic residue in enzymes.
Glutamine (Gln, Q) — C₅H₁₀N₂O₃
Codons: CAA, CAG
Formula: C₅H₁₀N₂O₃
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–CH2–C(=O)–NH2
Semantic: Nitrogen donor; polar uncharged.
Asparagine (Asn, N) — C₄H₈N₂O₃
Codons: AAU, AAC
Formula: C₄H₈N₂O₃
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–C(=O)–NH2
Semantic: Polar; glycosylation sites.
Lysine (Lys, K) — C₆H₁₄N₂O₂
Codons: AAA, AAG
Formula: C₆H₁₄N₂O₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–CH2–CH2–CH2–NH2
Semantic: Positively charged; DNA binding.
Aspartic Acid (Asp, D) — C₄H₇NO₄
Codons: GAU, GAC
Formula: C₄H₇NO₄
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–COOH
Semantic: Negatively charged; active in catalysis.
Glutamic Acid (Glu, E) — C₅H₉NO₄
Codons: GAA, GAG
Formula: C₅H₉NO₄
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–CH2–COOH
Semantic: Negatively charged; signaling and catalysis.
Cysteine (Cys, C) — C₃H₇NO₂S
Codons: UGU, UGC
Formula: C₃H₇NO₂S
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–SH
Semantic: Sulfur-containing; disulfide bond formation.
Tryptophan (Trp, W) — C₁₁H₁₂N₂O₂
Codons: UGG
Formula: C₁₁H₁₂N₂O₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–(indole ring)
/N\
| |
C C
\\ //
C
Semantic: Aromatic; precursor to neurotransmitters.
Arginine (Arg, R) — C₆H₁₄N₄O₂
Codons: CGU, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA, AGG
Formula: C₆H₁₄N₄O₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–CH2–CH2–NH–C(=NH)–NH2
Semantic: Positively charged; binds nucleic acids.
Glycine (Gly, G) — C₂H₅NO₂
Codons: GGU, GGC, GGA, GGG
Formula: C₂H₅NO₂
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
H
Semantic: Smallest amino acid; highly flexible.
Stop Codons
UAA — Ochre stop
UAG — Amber stop
UGA — Opal stop / Selenocysteine in context
(No structure — not an amino acid)
Non-Standard Genetic Amino Acids in Codon–Chemistry Table
Selenocysteine (Sec, U) — C₃H₇NO₂Se
Codon: UGA (reassigned from stop when SECIS element present)
Formula: C₃H₇NO₂Se
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–SeH
Semantic: Sulfur analog cysteine variant with selenium atom; incorporated into selenoproteins; important in antioxidant enzymes like glutathione peroxidase.
Pragmatics: Requires special translation machinery (SECIS RNA, elongation factor SelB).
Pyrrolysine (Pyl, O) — C₁₂H₂₁N₃O₃
Codon: UAG (reassigned from stop in certain archaea and bacteria)
Formula: C₁₂H₂₁N₃O₃
H
|
NH2–C–COOH
|
CH2–(pyrroline ring)–(CH2)4–NH–C(=O)–CH3
Semantic: Lysine derivative with an added pyrroline ring; found in methyltransferase enzymes of methanogenic archaea.
Pragmatics: Requires dedicated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS) and tRNA^Pyl.
✅ The codon–chemistry map includes:
- 20 canonical amino acids
- Stop codons (Ochre, Amber, Opal)
- 2 non-standard genetically encoded amino acids (Selenocysteine, Pyrrolysine)
- For each: codon(s), name, codes, formula, ASCII chemical structure, semantic/pragmatic context
Full ASCII Chemical Map of Amino Acids – SolveForce Communications
Letterscope – SolveForce Communications
Key terms in plain language
Open a term for a concise explanation of language used on this page.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol carries phone calls over an IP network instead of a traditional analog phone line. Call quality depends on network stability, latency, and traffic management.
Unified Communications (UCaaS)
A cloud-based combination of business calling, messaging, meetings, presence, and collaboration tools managed as one communications service.
SIP Trunking
A service that connects a business phone system to the public telephone network using Internet Protocol, replacing or supplementing traditional phone lines.
Bandwidth
The amount of data a connection can carry in a given time, usually measured in Mbps or Gbps. More bandwidth supports more users, devices, and simultaneous applications.
Latency
The time it takes data to travel between two points. Lower latency improves voice, video meetings, cloud applications, gaming, and other real-time services.
Service-Level Agreement (SLA)
A provider’s written commitment covering service targets such as availability, response time, repair time, and sometimes financial credits when commitments are missed.