Amino acids are a class of organic compounds named after the nitrogenous amino group (-NH2) and the carboxylic acid (-COOH) group which they all contain. Amino acids are chemically the structural and functional building blocks of living organisms. The proper sequencing of amino acids into proteins was encoded in DNA. (TNG: "All Good Things...")
When Jonathan Archer detected molecules resembling amino acids aboard an Axanar cargo ship in 2151, Hoshi Sato speculated it could be blood. (ENT: "Fight or Flight")
Some scientists believed that only amino acid re-sequencing and disulfide shuffling were involved in prion replication and that quantum resonance did not factor – something which Julian Bashir disagreed with. (DS9: "Nor the Battle to the Strong")
The Klingon J'Dan found a way to encode digital information in amino acid sequences and injected himself and others with the data, thereby enabling those so injected to deliver tactical information to the Romulans. (TNG: "The Drumhead")
Captain Picard's Aunt Adele's recipe for a warm milk toddy worked perfectly as a natural sedative, as the heat activated amino acids in the lactose, and it also tasted delicious. (TNG: "Schisms")
When Chakotay noted that a nearby class M planet had high amino acid and protein readings, Captain Kathryn Janeway inferred that it must have a healthy plant life. Instead, they were residues left behind from trigemic vapor on the planet. (VOY: "Parturition")
When Captain Janeway was bitten by a nesset on the Nechani homeworld in 2373, an amino acid was formed as a result of the breakdown of the nesset toxin, causing an interruption of the normal flow of neurotransmitters and hallucinations. (VOY: "Sacred Ground")
In an alternate 2374, Neelix's energy drink the "elixir of endurance" was filled with amino acids. (VOY: "Year of Hell, Part II")