Nucleic acids are biomolecules which are found in the nuclei of all living cell in form of nucleoproteins or chromosomes (proteins contains nucleic acids as the prosthetic group).


Nucleic acids are of two types: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). The two main functions of nucleic acids are:
(a) DNA is responsible for transmission of hereditary effects from one generation to another. This is due to its unique property of replication, during cell division and two identical DNA strands are transferred to the daughter cells.
(b) DNA and RNA are responsible for synthesis of all proteins needed for the growth and maintenance of our body. Actually the proteins are synthesized by various RNA molecules (r-RNA, m-RNA) and t-RNA) in the cell but the message for the synthesis of a particular protein is coded in DNA.