5-Methyluridine

The structure of 5-methyluridine

The chemical compound 5-methyluridine (also called ribosylthymine, thymine riboside, and m5u) is a pyrimidine nucleoside.

Structure and properties

In its composition, 5-methyluridine is ribose (a pentose sugar) joined to a pyrimidine base and is similar to cytidine, uridine, 2-deoxyuridine, 2-deoxyguanosine, and 2-deoxy-5-methyluridine.

It exists in solid form as small white crystals or white crystalline powder, has a molecular weight of 258.23 u, and has a melting point of 185 °C. The stability of 5-methyluridine under standard temperature and pressure (STP) is very high.