ABSTRACT
Carbohydrates are very important components of naturally occurring molecules. There are many types of sugars, and one prominent feature is the unique chemistry and properties of these compounds. These properties are the result of the multifunctional nature of the molecules and the interaction of the functional groups with each other and with other chemical reagents. Nucleic acids have sugars as a key structural component. Purine bases in a nucleic acid will form strong hydrogen bonds using NH or amide carbonyl moieties when in close proximity to the NH or amide carbonyl moieties of pyrimidine bases in another nucleic acid or within the same nucleic acid. The Ruff degradation is the oxidation of an aldose to an aldonic acid with bromine in water, followed by oxidative cleavage to a new aldose with hydrogen peroxide and ferric sulfate. This procedure gives a carbohydrate with one fewer carbon than the starting carbohydrate.
