Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate pentasodium is the sodium salt form of PRPP. PRPP is a phosphoribosyl donor for AMP and GMP synthesis in reactions catalysed by adenine phosphoribosyltransferase and hypoxanthine/guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. PRPP is synthesized from ribose-5-phosphate and ATP by PRPP synthetase (EC 2.7.6.1).

Phosphoribosyl diphosphate (PRPP) pentasodium is an important intermediate in cellular metabolism. PRPP is synthesized by PRPP synthase, as follows: ribose 5-phosphate + ATP → PRPP + AMP. PRPP is ubiquitously found in living organisms and is used in substitution reactions with the formation of glycosidic bonds. PRPP is utilized in the biosynthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides, the amino acids histidine and tryptophan, the cofactors NAD and tetrahydromethanopterin, arabinosyl monophosphodecaprenol, and certain aminoglycoside antibiotics[1]. Phosphoribosyl diphosphate (5-Phosphoribosyl-l-pyrophosphate) pentasodium, a substrate shared by adenine phosphoribosyltransferase and hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, accumulates in human erythrocytes lacking hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. 5-Phosphoribosyl-l-pyrophosphate added to purified adenine phosphoribosyltransferase stabilizes it against heat inactivation[2].