Poly-L-lysine is a synthetic amino acid polymer – a chain ofmultiple L-lysine amino acid monomers, with multiple industry and biomedical applications.
As a monomer, lysine contains two amino groups, called α-polylysine and ε-polylysine, based on which carbon they are on. Α-polylysine is composed of either L-lysine or D-lysine enantiomers, based on the chirality (“handedness”) of the lysine’s central carbon. Poly-L-lysine is a polypeptide formed from L-lysine monomers. Poly-D-lysine, a similar molecule used in similar applications, is a polymer formed with D-lysine units.