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Definition

noun

A pyrimidine nucleoside that has thymine bound to a deoxyribose sugar.

Supplement

Deoxythymidine when phosphorylated forms thymine nucleotide that pairs with adenine nucleotide in a DNA molecule. Since thymine nucleotides are precursors of DNA, not RNA, deoxythymidine is simply called thymidine.

IUPAC name: 1-[(2R,4S, 5R)-4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]-5-methylpyrimidine-2,4-dione
Molecular formula: C₁₀H₁₄N₂O₅

Synonyms:

• 2'-Deoxythymidine
• thymidine
• 5-Methyl-2'-deoxyuridine
• thymine deoxyriboside

See also: nucleoside.