Nucleoside Triphosphates and their Analogs

Book excerpt: While adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is described as the universal currency of energy in all living organisms at the cellular level, the actual power lies in its phosphate tail. This book is the first dedicated to the field of nucleoside triphosphate (NTP). Its 13 chapters encompass the contributions of twenty scientists from both academia and industry. It provides collective information on the chemical, physiochemical, and biological properties of both natural and modified NTP and their application in life sciences. Three chapters review families of enzymes that depend on nucleotides for assembling DNA and RNA molecules. The appendix includes supporting NMR data.