Synthesis, Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry, and PCR Amplification of 3′-5′ and 3′-6′ Disulfide-linked Oligonucleotides

Disulfide dithymidines linked 3'-5' or 3'-6' were synthesized and incorporated into oligonucleotides through a combined phosphotriester and phosphoramidite solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis approach. The disulfide links are cleaved and formed reversibly in the presence of thiols and oligonucleotides. This link was shown to be sequence-adaptive in response to given templates in the presence of mercaptoethanol. The artificial 3'-5' and 3'-6' disulfide link was tolerated by polymerases in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). By using sequencing analysis, we show that single mutations frequently occurred randomly in the amplification products of the PCR.