Nucleic Acids

Nucleic Acid Methods & Synthesis

Nucleic acid methods are the techniques used to study nucleic acids: DNA and RNA. Nucleotides can be separated into purines and pyrimidines. They are both primarily produced in the liver. They both contain a sugar and a phosphate, but have nitrogenous bases that are different sizes. Because of this, the two different groups are synthesized in different ways. However, all nucleotide synthesis requires the use of phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP) which donates the ribose and phosphate necessary to create a nucleotide.