Automated solid-phase synthesis of high capacity oligo-dT cellulose for affinity purification of poly-A tagged biomolecules.

Affinity purification of poly-adenylated biomolecules using solid supports that are derivatized with poly-thymidine oligonucleotides provides a powerful method for isolating cellular mRNA. These systems have also been used to purify mRNA-peptide fusions generated by RNA-display. However, the commercial source for high capacity oligo-dT cellulose was recently discontinued. To overcome this problem, we have developed a low cost solid-phase synthesis protocol to generate oligo-dT cellulose. Comparative binding studies indicate that chemically synthesized oligo-dT cellulose functions with superior loading capacity when compared to the discontinued product. We suggest that this method could be used to synthesize oligo-dT resin for routine purification of poly-adenylated biomolecules.