OLIGO ((ALPHA)-ARABINOFURANOSYL NUCLEOTIDES) AND (ALPHA)-ARABINOFURANOSYL PRECURSORS THEREOF

摘要

Novel oligonucleotides formed from alpha -D-arabinofuranosyl nucleoside monomers, including oligonucleotides in which one or more of the monomer units is functionalized, are disclosed herein, as well as functionalized monomeric alpha -D-arabinofuranosyl nucleosides and nucleotides. A generic formula for the oligomers is: <IMAGE> in which B is a nucleotide base which will vary from one monomeric unit to the next in a preselected oligonucleotide sequence; R is phosphate, phsophorothioate, phosphoramidate, or alkanephosphonate; t is 1 for functionalized monomeric units and zero for the others; W is a chemical linker arm; A is a functional group; and n is the number of monomeric units in the oligomer. The oligomers are useful for diagnostic and chemotherapeutic uses. A novel reaction is also disclosed, in which an alpha -D-arabinofuranosyl nucleoside with exposed hydroxyls at the 2'- and 3'-positions is selectively protected at the 2'-position in a single reaction.