Synthesis of Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides with Stereodefined Phosphorothioate Linkages

A method for solid‐phase synthesis of stereodefined PS‐oligos via an oxathiaphospholane approach using pure P‐diastereomers of nucleoside oxathiaphospholane monomers is described. The oxathiaphospholane monomers are synthesized by phosphitylation of 5′‐O‐DMTr‐N‐protected deoxyribonucleosides with 2‐chloro‐spiro‐4,4‐pentamethylene‐1,3,2‐oxathiaphospholane followed by sulfurization. The procedure is general and may be applied to other analogs, depending on the aldehyde (or mercaptoalcohol) used. Starting from an 18O‐labeled mercaptoalcohol, the corresponding 18O‐labeled phosphitylating reagent and nucleoside monomers can be obtained and used for synthesis of labeled stereodefined PS‐oligos, which are useful for studying mechanisms of enzymatic reactions. Details are provided for chromatographic separation of the 5′‐O‐DMTr‐N‐protected‐deoxyribonucleoside‐3′‐O‐(2‐thio‐spiro‐4,4‐pentamethylene‐1,3,2‐oxathiaphospholane)s into their P‐diastereomers, and for manual solid‐phase synthesis of PS‐oligos. Oxidation of 5′‐O‐DMTr‐N‐protected‐deoxyribonucleoside‐3′‐O‐(2‐thio‐spiro‐4,4‐pentamethylene‐1,3,2‐oxathiaphospholane)s with selenium dioxide yields their 2‐oxo‐analogs, which are suitable either for elongation of stereodefined PS‐oligos with segments consisting of unmodified nucleotide units possessing phosphate internucleotide linkages, or for generating isotopomeric 18O‐labeled PO‐oligos of predetermined P‐chirality.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143684/1/cpnc0417.pd

Structure of a stereoregular phosphorothioate DNA/RNA duplex

In this work, we present the first NMR solution structure of a DNA/RNA hybrid containing stereoregular Rp-phosphorothioate modifications of all DNA backbone linkages. The complex of the enzymatically synthesized phosphorothioate DNA octamer (all-R_p)-d(GCGTCAGG) and its complementary RNA r(CCUGACGC) was found to adopt an overall conformation within the A-form family. Most helical parameters and the sugar puckers of the DNA strand assume values intermediate between A- and B-form. The close structural similarity with the unmodified DNA/RNA hybrid of the same sequence may explain why both the natural and the sulfur-substituted complex can be recognized and digested by ribonuclease H