> Information Center > Technical FAQs > Peptides Synthesis Technology Column > How do peptides differ from protein
The basic distinguishing factors are size and structure. Peptides are smaller than proteins. Traditionally, peptides are defined as molecules that consist of between 2 and 50 amino acids, whereas proteins are made up of 50 or more amino acids. In addition, peptides tend to be less well defined in structure than proteins, which can adopt complex conformations known as secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures. Functional distinctions may also be made between peptides and proteins.
Peptides, however, may be subdivided into oligopeptides, which have few amino acids, and polypeptides, which have many amino acids. Proteins are formed from one or more polypeptides joined together. Hence, proteins essentially are very large peptides. In fact, some researchers use the term peptide to refer specifically to oligopeptides, or otherwise relatively short amino acid chains, with the term polypeptide being used to describe proteins, or chains of 50 or more amino acids.
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