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GypsyV3nom t1_j9awfn7 wrote

The "acid" in amino acids refers to the carboxylic acid on the C-terminal side of the backbone, but doesn't actually mean the amino acid has acidic properties, it's just a naming convention. Most amino acids balance out around 7 because in water, the carboxylic acid will give up a proton while the N-terminus snags a proton. The net change in pH is thus largely negligible.

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LivingDegree t1_j9fmlj1 wrote

Piggybacking: There are also amino acids that are fairly basic (lysine, arginine, histidine); the properties of an amino acid (ie its pH) is largely determined by what’s going on with the amino acid itself (the actual aminal) instead of the C-terminus or N-terminus.

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