Chapter 28: Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids

Nucleic Acids

• Nucleic acids are polymers built of nucleotide monomers : hence they are polynucleotides

• Note that the backbone consists of alternating carbohydrate and phosphate units, coupled at the 3'- and 5'- positions.
• In ribonucleic acids, RNA, the carbohydrate is ribose with cytosine, uracil, adenine and guanine bases.
• In deoxyribonucleic acids, DNA, the carbohydrate is deoxyribose with cytosine, thymine, adenine and guanine bases.

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© Dr. Ian Hunt, Department of Chemistry