D2deoksiribofuranosa

D2deoksiribofuranosa, often shortened to deoxyribose, is a pentose sugar, meaning it is a five-carbon sugar. It is a derivative of ribose, another five-carbon sugar, but with a crucial difference: it is missing an oxygen atom at the second carbon position. This absence of oxygen is why it is called "deoxy." The furanosa designation refers to its five-membered ring structure, a furan ring.

The most significant role of deoxyribose is as a fundamental component of deoxyribonucleic acid, commonly known as DNA. In the DNA double helix, deoxyribose sugars are linked together by phosphodiester bonds to form the sugar-phosphate backbone. Each deoxyribose molecule is also attached to a nitrogenous base (adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine) and a phosphate group, forming a nucleotide. The unique structure of DNA, including the presence of deoxyribose, allows it to store and transmit genetic information.

While deoxyribose is most famous for its presence in DNA, it is also found in other biological molecules, though less commonly. The stability imparted by the absence of the 2' hydroxyl group makes DNA more resilient than RNA, which contains ribose. This structural difference is vital for the long-term storage of genetic material.