Editing Thymidine (section)

== Structure and properties ==
In its composition, deoxythymidine is a [[nucleoside]] composed of [[deoxyribose]] (a pentose [[sugar]]) joined to the [[pyrimidine]] base [[thymine]].

Deoxythymidine can be phosphorylated with one, two or three phosphoric acid groups, creating [[dTMP]] ('''d'''eoxy'''t'''hymidine '''m'''ono'''p'''hosphate), [[dTDP]], or [[dTTP]] (for the '''d'''i- and '''t'''ri- phosphates, respectively).

It exists in [[solid]] form as small white [[crystals]] or white crystalline [[Powder (substance)|powder]]. It has a [[molecular weight]] of {{val|242.229|u=Da}} and a [[melting point]] of 185&nbsp;[[degrees Celsius|°C]]. The stability of deoxythymidine under [[standard temperature and pressure]] (STP) is very high.

Deoxythymidine is non-toxic and is part of one of the four nucleosides in DNA. It is a naturally occurring compound that exists in all living organisms and DNA viruses. Instead of thymidine, RNA contains [[uridine]] ([[uracil]] joined to [[ribose]]). Uracil is chemically very similar to thymine, which is also known as 5-methyluracil. Since thymine nucleotides are precursors of DNA (but not RNA), the prefix "deoxy" is often left out, i.e., deoxythymidine is often just called thymidine.

Thymidine is listed as a chemical [[teratogen]].<ref>The following list of chemicals known or believed to be teratogens is drawn primarily from Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials, 7th Ed., by N. Irving Sax and Richard J. Lewis.</ref>