Protected deoxyribonucleoside-3' aryl phosphodiesters as key intermediates in polynucleotide synthesis. Construction of an icosanucleotide analogous to the sequence at the ends of Rous sarcoma virus 35S RNA.

Several modifications have been incorporated into the phosphotriester strategy for chemical synthesis of oligodeoxyribonucleotides. These include high-yield methods of preparation and isolation of O5', N-protected deoxyribonucleoside-3' p-chlorophenyl phosphates which serve as key intermediates, and the elimination of some superfluous manipulation and purification steps commonly used in the process of synthesizing oligonucleotide blocks. In addition, two new arylsulfonyl nitroimidazole derivatives have been prepared and found to be highly effective agents for internucleotide bond formation. These techniques have been applied in construction of the iconsamer d(G-C-C-A-T-T-T-T-A-C-C-A-T-T-C-A-C-C-A)-rC, equivalent to a ribonucleotide sequence located at both the 5' and 3' ends of Rous sarcoma virus 35S RNA.