作者:Michael C. Pirrung、Jean-Claude Bradley
DOI:10.1021/jo00125a010
日期:1995.10
Toward the goal of preparing surface-bound arrays of short oligonucleotides using light-directed synthesis, we have studied novel photoremovable protecting groups for solid-phase DNA synthesis. We have protected the 5'-hydroxyls of all four nucleosides with our recently-described 3',5'-dimethoxybenzoin carbonate (DMB-carbonate) group and converted the products to (cyanoethyl)phosphoramidites. For comparison with another recently-described method for photochemical DNA synthesis, we have prepared the methylnitropiperonyl carbonate (MeNPOC) derivative of thymidine and its amidite. To permit chain attachment to supports, the thymidine DMB-carbonate succinoyl derivative was also prepared. High cycle yields (based on release of the photoproduct dimethoxyphenylbenzofuran) were obtained in initial photochemical DNA synthesis studies with DMB-carbonates. An increase in the deprotection half-life was seen with increasing oligomer length, but this effect was scale-dependent and should be minimal at the small scale at which most DNA arrays will be prepared. The oligonucleotides resulting from these syntheses contained some impurities. It was shown that 350 nm irradiation does not produce thymine dimers but does damage benzoylcytidine. This problem is solved through a change of protecting groups. However, other factors also affect the quality of the DNA prepared by photochemical synthesis, since direct comparisons between short oligomers of thymine prepared with DMTr, DMB-carbonate, and MeNPOC protecting groups show that photochemical deprotection results in diminished cycle yields compared to acid deprotection.