A general and efficient approach for the construction of RNA oligonucleotides containing a 5'-phosphorothiolate linkage.

ABSTRACT: Oligoribonucleotides containing a 5'-phosphorothiolate linkage have provided effective tools to study the mechanisms of RNA catalysis, allowing resolution of kinetic ambiguity associated with mechanistic dissection and providing a strategy to establish linkage between catalysis and specific functional groups. However, challenges associated with their synthesis have limited wider application of these modified nucleic acids. Here, we describe a general semisynthetic strategy to obtain these oligoribonucleotides reliably and relatively efficiently. The approach begins with the chemical synthesis of an RNA dinucleotide containing the 5'-phosphorothiolate linkage, with the adjacent 2'-hydroxyl group protected as the photolabile 2'-O-o-nitrobenzyl or 2'-O-α-methyl-o-nitrobenzyl derivative. Enzym

SUBMITTER: Li NS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3061073 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature