Chemical ligation of oligonucleotides using an electrophilic phosphorothioester

We developed a new approach for chemical ligation of oligonucleotides using the electrophilic phosphorothioester (EPT) group. A nucleophilic phosphorothioate group on oligonucleotides was converted into the EPT group by treatment with Sanger's reagent (1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene). EPT oligonucleotides can be isolated, stored frozen, and used for the ligation reaction. The reaction of the EPT oligonucleotide and an amino-modified oligonucleotide took place without any extra reagents at pH 7.0–8.0 at room temperature, and resulted in a ligation product with a phosphoramidate bond with a 39–85% yield. This method has potential uses in biotechnology and chemical biology.