title: Heterocyclic modifications of oligonucleotides and antisense technology.
abstract: Modification of the heterocyclic moiety of oligonucleotides has led to the discovery of potent antisense compounds. This review describes the physicochemical factors that are responsible for duplex stabilization through base modification. A summary is given of the different heterocyclic modifications that can be used to beneficially influence this duplex stability. The biologic activity of base-modified oligonucleotides is described, and the different factors that are important for obtaining in vivo antisense activity with heterocyclic-modified oligonucleotides are summarized.
authors.affiliation: Rega Institute for Medical Research, K.U. Leuven, Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Herdewijn
mesh_terms: D020029:Base Pairing; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004355:Drug Stability; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense