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Phil Olsen

Publications and source records attributed to Phil Olsen.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Antisense oligonucleotides: efficient synthesis of 2'-O-methoxyethyl phosphorothioate oligonucleotides using 4,5-dicyanoimidazole. Are these oligonucleotides comparable to those synthesized using 1H-tetrazole as coupling activator?

Multiple 2'-O-methoxyethyl modified phosphorothioate oligonucleotides of 18-20-mer in length were synthesized at various scales using 4,5-dicyanoimidazole (DCI) as coupling activator. Extensive synthetic, analytical (using ion-pair LC-MS), and in vivo pharmacological, toxicological studies showed that oligonucleotides made with DCI and 1H-tetrazole are chemically and biologically equivalent. This extensive study will help the oligonucleotide therapeutic industry to move from using a potentially explosive activator (1H-tetrazole) to a safe activator (DCI).

Animals↗

Trichloroacetaldehyde modified oligonucleotides.

Some commercial batches of dichloroacetic acid (DCA) contain traces of chloral (trichloroacetaldehyde). Using such DCA to effect detritylation during solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis results in the formation of a family of process impurities in which the atoms of chloral (Cl3CCHO) are incorporated between the 5'-oxygen and phosphorus atoms of an internucleotide linkage. The structure was elucidated by HPLC with UV and MS detection, digestion of the oligonucleotide, synthesis of model compounds, and 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy. By understanding the chemistry behind its formation, we are now able to limit levels of this impurity in synthetic oligonucleotides by limiting chloral in DCA.

Chloral Hydrate↗

Solution stability and degradation pathway of deoxyribonucleoside phosphoramidites in acetonitrile.

The impuritiy profiles of acetonitrile solutions of the four standard O-cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropyl-phosphoramidites of 5'-O-dimethoxytrityl (DMT) protected deoxyribonucleosides (dG(ib), dA(bz), dC(bz), T) were analyzed by HPLC-MS. The solution stability of the phosphoramidites decreases in the order T, dC>dA>dG. After five weeks storage under inert gas atmosphere the amidite purity was reduced by 2% (T, dC), 6% (dA), and 39% (dG), respectively. The main degradation pathways involve hydrolysis, elimination of acrylonitrile and autocatalytic acrylonitrile-induced formation of cyanoethyl phosphonoamidates. Consequently, the rate of degradation is reduced by reducing the water concentration in solution with molecular sieves and by lowering the amidite concentration. Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis could also be reduced by addition of small amounts of base.

Acetonitriles↗