A broad class of substances containing carbon and its derivatives. Many of these chemicals will frequently contain hydrogen with or without oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and other elements. They exist in either carbon chain or carbon ring form.
Linear POLYPEPTIDES that are synthesized on RIBOSOMES and may be further modified, crosslinked, cleaved, or assembled into complex proteins with several subunits. The specific sequence of AMINO ACIDS determines the shape the polypeptide will take, during PROTEIN FOLDING, and the function of the protein.