Automated Solid-Phase Click Synthesis of Oligonucleotide Conjugates: From Small Molecules to Diverse N-Acetylgalactosamine Clusters

Bioconjug Chem. 2017 Oct 18;28(10):2599-2607. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00462. Epub 2017 Oct 4.

Abstract

We developed a novel technique for the efficient conjugation of oligonucleotides with various alkyl azides such as fluorescent dyes, biotin, cholesterol, N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), etc. using copper-catalysed alkyne-azide cycloaddition on the solid phase and CuI·P(OEt)3 as a catalyst. Conjugation is carried out in an oligonucleotide synthesizer in fully automated mode and is coupled to oligonucleotide synthesis and on-column deprotection. We also suggest a set of reagents for the construction of diverse conjugates. The sequential double-click procedure using a pentaerythritol-derived tetraazide followed by the addition of a GalNAc or Tris-GalNAc alkyne gives oligonucleotide-GalNAc dendrimer conjugates in good yields with minimal excess of sophisticated alkyne reagents. The approach is suitable for high-throughput synthesis of oligonucleotide conjugates ranging from fluorescent DNA probes to various multi-GalNAc derivatives of 2'-modified siRNA.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acetylgalactosamine / chemistry*
  • Alkynes / chemistry
  • Automation
  • Azides / chemistry
  • Click Chemistry
  • Cycloaddition Reaction
  • Oligonucleotides / chemical synthesis*
  • Oligonucleotides / chemistry*
  • Solid-Phase Synthesis Techniques

Substances

  • Alkynes
  • Azides
  • Oligonucleotides
  • Acetylgalactosamine