title: Solid-phase synthesis and hybrization behavior of partially 2'/3'-O-acetylated RNA oligonucleotides.
abstract: Synthesis of partially 2'/3'-O-acetylated oligoribonucleotides has been accomplished by using a 2'/3'-O-acetyl orthogonal protecting group strategy in which non-nucleophilic strong-base (DBU) labile nucleobase protecting groups and a UV-light cleavable linker were used. Strong-base stability of the photolabile linker allowed on-column nucleobase and phosphate deprotection, followed by a mild cleavage of the acetylated oligonucleotides from the solid support with UV light. Two 17nt oligonucleotides, which were synthesized possessing one specific internal 2'- or 3'-acetyl group, were used as synthetic standards in a recent report from this laboratory detailing the prebiotically plausible ligation of RNA oligonucleotides. In order to further investigate the effect of 2'/3'-O-acetyl groups on the stability of RNA duplex structure, two complementary bis-acetylated RNA oligonucleotides were also expediently obtained with the newly developed protocols. UV melting curves of 2'-O-acetylated RNA duplexes showed a consistent ~3.1 °C decrease in Tm per 2'-O-acetyl group.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology , Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Colm D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.forename: Christopher K W
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Sutherland
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D009843:Oligoribonucleotides / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D012313:RNA / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D060327:Solid-Phase Synthesis Techniques
chemical_list: D009843:Oligoribonucleotides; D012313:RNA