Stereocontrolled Solid-Phase Synthesis of Phosphate/Phosphorothioate (PO/PS) Chimeric Oligodeoxyribonucleotides on an Automated Synthesizer Using an Oxazaphospholidine-Phosphoramidite Method

Stereocontrolled solid-phase synthesis of phosphate/phosphorothioate chimeric oligodeoxyribonucleotides (PO/PS-ODNs) was achieved by integrating the conventional phosphoramidite method into a previously developed oxazaphospholidine method for the stereo controlled synthesis of P-chiral oligonucleotides. P-Stereodefined PO/PS-ODNs with mixed sequences (up to 12-mers) were obtained in good yields and high stereoselectivities by reacting different combinations of monomers (conventional phosphoramidites/diastereopure nucleoside 3'-O-oxazaphospholidines), activators (ETT/CMPT), capping reagents (Pac(2)O/CF(3)COIm), and oxidizing/sulfurizing reagents (TBHP/POS) on an automated synthesizer. A thermal denaturation study examined the resultant diastereopure PO/PS-ODN 12-mers with three consecutive (Rp)- or (Sp)-PS-linkages at the internal or terminal regions of the molecules. We found that (Rp)-PO/PS-ODNs can only moderately destabilize duplexes with complementary oligoribonucleotides (ORNs) compared with their unmodified ODN counterparts (Delta T-m = -0.4 degrees C per modification). In contrast, (Sp)-PO/PS-ODNs have larger destabilizing effects (Delta T-m = -1.2 to -0.8 degrees C per modification). Although smaller destabilizing effects were observed when the (Sp)-PS-linkages were incorporated into the terminal regions of the molecule, there was a weaker correlation between the location of an incorporated (Rp)-PS-linkage and its destabilizing effect.