Oligo Synthesis and Modifications 101: All the Basics You Should Know

Regarding research applications, synthesizing oligo or oligonucleotides has opened a new door. And while speaking of it, the first question will pop up in your mind, “What Are Oligonucleotides? What Is Meant by Oligo Synthesis?”- Isn’t it? Then, let us start by introducing this term to you. See here.

What Are Oligonucleotides and Oligo Synthesis?

Oligonucleotides or oligos are short single-standard nucleotide sequences containing up to 20 nucleotides in length. It’s a monomeric subunit of DNA and RNA. With the advancement of technology, it’s possible to create custom oligos using solid-phase chemical synthesis. Its sequential addition consists of nucleic acids, like (Adenine (A), Cytosine (C), Thymine (T), and Cytosine (C) for DNA and Uracil (U) for RNA, while transforming into a growing nucleotide chain. After the completion of the oligo synthesis process, it is desalted or purified to eliminate non-full-length substances.

The importance of oligos lies in various molecular processes, including DNA sequencing, PCR, plasmid construction, genomic manipulations, and labelled probes. In fact, its uses don’t limit to only these but expand to therapeutics and disease diagnosis, including advanced biomedicine and biological research.

Uses of Oligonucleotides in Research

Generally, oligos are used mostly in the research process of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) because this process requires a single strand of DNA to generate thousands of DNA copies used in downstream applications, like sequencing and cloning. In the PCR technique, oligos are called primers, usually 20 to 35 nucleotides long.

Besides, other biological research and applications, such as qPCR (quantitative PCR), single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays, and over-expression and gene editing, require user-specific custom DNA or RNA oligonucleotide synthesis sequencing.

Oligonucleotide primers

The use of a primer-based oligonucleotide process can be anytime when the involvement of nucleic acids is present. For example:

The use of oligonucleotide primers is best for DNA sequencing, and this primer sequencing is quite similar to PCR techniques, but the slight differences lie in various polymerase reactions. Also, small DNA molecules like plasmids are also constructed by inserting oligonucleotide primers i.e. genetic information transformation between cells.

Oligonucleotide probes

During DNA or RNA sequence detection, oligonucleotide probes play a great role since they are designed as complementary to the sequencing and labelled with fluorophores, detectable molecules. Also, its uses are common in tissue microarrays, gene libraries, and gene expression analysis.

Oligonucleotide Novel uses

Novel research and applications involve developed oligonucleotides, including antisense and aptamers oligos. Aptamers oligonucleotides can bind one or more targets in the same processes as antibodies, such as in drugs or detecting disease molecular markers. On the contrary, mRNA expression is targeted by antisense oligonucleotides during disease research procedures using different mechanisms.

Oligo modifications

Just like DNA or RNA oligo synthesis, oligonucleotide modifications have great importance in biological applications and research. Modified oligos are used in clinical-based research, like molecular therapeutics and diagnostics. Oligo modifications enhance the possibilities of biological reactions when it’s necessary.

For instance, there are different ranges of modifications available, including Spacers, Fluorophores, Linkers, Quenchers, Probes, Modified Bases, Phosphorylation, and so on. Some modifications improve the accuracy of oligos to target different sequences, while some create coupling with another molecule after the synthesis process is over. Generally, modifications are added during the oligonucleotide synthesis technique.

Bottom Line

Well, we hope you have got a brief idea about the oligo synthesis process and modifications. And if you are looking for one of the leading oligo synthesis companies, count on us, Bio Basic. We specialize in oligonucleotide synthesizing processes for different research applications, offering large-volume custom production using automation techniques for consistent production.

Also, our purification methods include High-Affinity Purification (novel purification process for custom oligos) PAGE, HPLC and HPLC-CE Purification, and Desalted Purification. We have expertise in diverse oligo modifications, from Linkers to Fluorophores to Probes, Quenchers, Spacers, and many more. We offer the highest standard oligo synthesis, including highly modified and purified oligonucleotides, due to manufacturing most tools and reagents in-house.

Click here to download our order form to place your order, or request a quotation and send the email to our oligo synthesis department at synthesis@biobasic.com. Or else, you can directly email us your sequences, including the modifications and purification type required.