Ribose

Ribose is a five-carbon monosaccharide found in RNA and in molecules including ATP and NADH. Its ring structure and hydroxyl groups distinguish it from deoxyribose.

Monosaccharide: A simple sugar consisting of a single carbohydrate unit that cannot be hydrolyzed into smaller sugars. Ribose is a single-unit sugar and a building block for larger biomolecules.
RNA: A nucleic acid whose nucleotides contain ribose, phosphate, and one of four nitrogenous bases. Ribose forms the sugar-phosphate backbone of RNA.
Haworth projection: A two-dimensional convention for depicting the cyclic structures of sugars. It makes ribose’s ring form and substituent positions visible.
Formose reaction: A reaction network in which formaldehyde forms a mixture of sugars under alkaline conditions. It can produce ribose among many other sugars, though selectively and efficiently forming ribose is difficult.
RNA hydrolysis: The cleavage of RNA’s phosphodiester bonds by reaction with water, often accelerated by catalysts. Ribose’s 2′ hydroxyl can promote backbone cleavage, making RNA less stable than DNA.
Pentose: A monosaccharide containing five carbon atoms. Ribose belongs to this structural class of sugars.
ATP: A nucleotide that cells use to transfer chemical energy and phosphate groups. Its ribose links adenine to the three-phosphate chain.
Mutarotation: The change in optical rotation as a sugar’s alpha and beta anomers interconvert in solution. Open-chain ribose can close into either anomeric form.
Prebiotic chemistry: The study of chemical processes that could have produced life’s molecular building blocks before life existed. Ribose formation is a key challenge in proposed prebiotic routes to RNA.
DNA: A nucleic acid that stores hereditary information and contains deoxyribose in its nucleotide backbone. Its sugar lacks ribose’s 2′ hydroxyl, contributing to greater chemical stability.

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