Synthetic access to the chemical diversity of DNA and RNA 5′-aldehyde lesions

Synthesis of 5'-Aldehyde Oligonucleotide

Synthesis of oligonucleotide ending with an aldehyde functional group at their 5'-end (5'-AON) is possible for both DNA (5'-AODN) and RNA (5'-AORN) series irrespectively of the nature of the last nucleobase. The 5'-alcohol of on-support ODN is mildly oxidized under Moffat conditions. Transient protection of the resulting aldehyde by N,N'-diphenylethylenediamine derivatives allows cleavage, deprotection, and RP-HPLC purification of the protected 5'-AON. Finally, 5'-AON is deprotected by usual acetic acid treatment. In the aggregates, 5'-AON can be now synthesized and purified as routinely as non-modified ODNs, following procedures similar to the well-known "DMT-On" strategy.