The adsorption of five N-alpha-substituted amino acids with a 5-nitroso-6-oxo pyrimidine as substituent on a commercial activated carbon (AC) has been studied in aqueous solution at several pH values. The adsorption processes of these organic compounds have been analyzed on the basis of the electrolytic behavior of the adsorbates. In all cases, the adsorption process is highly irreversible due to strong pi-pi interactions between the arene centers of the AC and the pyrimidine residue of the adsorbates. This interaction is consistent with XPS data and HOMO-LUMO theoretical calculations. The adsorption of these organic compounds provides a new route for the functionalization of the AC surface with carboxyl groups. In addition, the adsorption capacity of the AC/organic compound systems for Cu(II) ions in aqueous solution has been studied at different pH values. These systems show an increase of the adsorption capacity for Cu(II) compared to the AC, which is related to the AC functionalization with carboxyl groups due to the adsorbed organic compounds.