Adenine is one of the purine basess used in forming nucleotides of DNA and RNA.

Adenine forms adenosine, a nucleoside, when attached to ribose and deoxyadenosine when attached to deoxyribose, and it forms Adenosine triphosphate, a nucleotide, when one or more phosphate group is added to adenosine. Adenosine triphosphate is used in all known cellular metabolisms as one of the basic methods of transferring chemical energy between reactions.