Nucleic acids are long chain molecules such as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid) that link together individual nucleotides that are composed of a pentose sugar, a nitrogenous base, and one or more phosphate groups.

The most common nucleotides, the building blocks of nucleic acids found in DNA are deoxyadenylic acid, deoxyguanylic acid, deoxythymidylic acid, and deoxycytidylic acid. Each of these carries a nitrogenous base: deoxyadenylic acid contains adenine (A), deoxyguanylic acid contains gutamine (G), deoxythymidylic acid contains thymine (T), and deoxycytidylic acid contains cytosine (C). The nucleotides subunits of ribonucleic acid are adenylic acid, cytidylic acid, guanylic acid, and uridylic acid. Each of the RNA subunit nucleotides carries a nitrogenous base: adenylic acid contains adenine (A), cytidylic acid contains cytosine (C), guanylic acid contains guanine (G), and uridylic acid contains uracil.

Nucleic acids are complex molecules that contain a cell's genetic information and the...