Novel Convenient Approach to the Solid-Phase Synthesis of Oligonucleotide Conjugates

A novel and convenient approach for the solid-phase 5′-functionalization of oligonucleotides is proposed in this article. The approach is based on the activation of free 5′-hydroxyl of polymer support-bound protected oligonucleotides by N,N′-disuccinimidyl carbonate followed by interaction with amino-containing ligands. Novel amino-containing derivatives of closo-dodecaborate, estrone, cholesterol, and α-tocopherol were specially prepared. A wide range of oligonucleotide conjugates bearing closo-dodecaborate, short peptide, pyrene, lipophilic residues (cholesterol, α-tocopherol, folate, estrone), aliphatic diamines, and propargylamine were synthesized and characterized to demonstrate the versatility of the approach. The developed method is suitable for the conjugate synthesis of oligonucleotides of different types (ribo-, deoxyribo-, 2′-O-methylribo-, and others).