Biochemistry - The Chemical Reactions of Living Cells Volume 1 - D. Metzler 1980
The Molecules We Are Made Of
Nucleic Acids
Functional Groups of Nucleic Acids
The ionized phosphate groups of the polymer backbone impart a high negative charge to nucleic acid molecules. For this reason, DNA in Cells is typically found in complexes with: 1) basic Proteins such as Histones or protamines (in fish spermatozoa); 2) polyamine polycations like spermidine (H+3N—СН2СН2СН2СН2—NH+2—СН2СН2СН2—NH+3); or 3) alkaline earth cations, such as Mg2+.
In RNA, the 2'-position of the ribose residues features free hydroxyl groups that significantly affect the polymer conformation. The absence of the 2-OH group in deoxyribose makes DNA much more resistant to alkaline degradation.
Purine and pyrimidine bases act as the "side chains" of Nucleic Acids. The polar groups present within the bases
Class="center">
are capable of forming Hydrogen Bonds both with other nucleic acid chains (particularly within the double-helical Structure of DNA) and with proteins. The flat bases engage in so-called base stacking interactions; furthermore, they can interact with the aromatic side chains of Amino Acids, as well as with various pharmaceutical and mutagenic chemical compounds.
Last update: 06/08/2026
Editorial and Educational Adaptation: This material has been compiled based on the primary/original source text. The project team performed an editorial review, corrected technical inaccuracies, structured sections, and adapted the content for an educational format.
What was processed:
- elimination of formatting defects (OCR errors, structural breaks, corrupted characters);
- editorial organization of content;
- standardization of terminology in accordance with academic sources;
- verification of factual statements against the original source text.
All mentions of the author, publication year, and origin of the primary text have been preserved in accordance with the source.