pyrimidine

/puy rim"i deen', pi-, pir"euh mi deen', -din/, n. Biochem.

1. a heterocyclic compound, C₄H₄N₂, that is the basis of several important biochemical substances.

2. one of several pyrimidine derivatives, esp. the bases cytosine, thymine, and uracil, which are fundamental constituents of nucleic acids.

[1880-85; b. PYRIDINE and IMIDE]

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Any of a class of heterocyclic compounds with a ring structure of four carbon and two nitrogen atoms.

The simplest member, pyrimidine itself (C₄H₄N₂), is not common, but derivatives with the structure are. Examples include thiamine (vitamin B₁), several sulfa drugs, barbiturates, and three of the bases in nucleic acids (cytosine, thymine, and uracil).

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▪ chemical compound

      any of a class of organic compounds of the heterocyclic series characterized by a ring structure composed of four carbon atoms and two nitrogen atoms. The simplest member of the family is pyrimidine itself, with molecular formula C₄H₄N₂.

      Several pyrimidine compounds were isolated between 1837 and 1864, but their structures were not recognized until 1868. Some well-known pyrimidine compounds include cytosine, thymine, and uracil, present in nucleic acids; thiamine (vitamin B₁); and sulfadiazine, sulfamerazine, and sulfamethazine, drugs used in therapy of bacterial and viral diseases.

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