Abstract
3′-O-Ethyl-4′-C-(hydroxymethyl)thymidine (5) was synthesized and converted into the phosphoramidite building block 8. Novel oligodeoxynucleotide analogues containing 4′-C-hydroxymethyl phosphodiester internucleoside linkages were synthesized on an automated DNA-synthesizer. The hybridization properties and enzymatic stability were studied on oligomers with one to four modifications. The 3′-end modified oligodeoxynucleotides were resistent towards 3′-exonuclease degradation and showed only moderate lowered affinity towards complementary DNA compared with oligodeoxynucleotides bearing modifications in the middle.

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