Adenine

Adenine is a purine nucleobase. It is part of DNA and RNA and is also a component of cofactors (NAD, FAD) and signaling molecules (cAMP). Adenine is essential for many in vivo and in vitro biochemical processes. Adenine is converted to adenosine with ribose. On phosphorylation, it forms AMP, ADP and ATP. ATP is the energy currency of the cell and is required during cellular metabolism. Adenine is metabolized to 2,8-dihydroxyadenine, which on accumulation in proximal tubules leads to the induction of chronic kidney disease (CKD) with severe anemia in rats. Adenine based derivatives elicit antiviral functionality against dsDNA viruses and are exploited for generating antiviral scaffolds. Adenine is suitable for use as a media nucleic acid base supplement in cell culture or food/dietary research.