The relative alkali metal ion (M(+)) affinities (binding energies) between seventeen different amino acids (AA) and the corresponding methyl esters (AAOMe) were determined in the gas phase by the kinetic method based on the dissociation of AA-M(+)-AAOMe heterodimers (M=Li, Na, K, Cs). With the exception of proline, the Li(+), Na(+), and K(+) affinities of the other aliphatic amino acids increase in the order AAAAOMe is already observed for K(+). Proline binds more strongly than its methyl ester to all M(+) except Li(+). Ab initio calculations on the M(+) complexes of alanine, beta-aminoisobutyric acid, proline, glycine methyl ester, alanine methyl ester, and proline methyl ester show that their energetically most favorable complexes result from charge solvation, except for proline which forms salt bridges. The most stable mode of charge solvation depends on the ligand (AA or AAOMe) and, for AA, it gradually changes with metal ion size. Esters chelate all M(+) ions through the amine and carbonyl groups. Amino acids coordinate Li(+) and Na(+) ions through the amine and carbonyl groups as well, but K(+) and Cs(+) ions are coordinated by the O atoms of the carboxyl group. Upon consideration of these differences in favored binding geometries, the theoretically derived relative M(+) affinities between aliphatic AA and AAOMe are in good overall agreement with the above given experimental trends. The majority of side chain functionalized amino acids studied show experimentally the affinity order AAAAOMe. The latter ranking is attributed to salt bridge formation.