Chromatography on Sephadex LH20 as an efficient purification step after removal of internucleotide 2,2,2-trichloroethyl protective groups from oligoribonucleotide phosphotriesters.

Chromatography on Sephadex LH20, in a linear gradient of methanol in 0.02M TEAB buffer pH 7.5, is proposed as a fast and efficient method for the isolation and purification of protected oligoribonucleotide phosphodiesters obtained by deprotection of internucleotide phosphotriesters, and for the monitoring of the deprotection step itself. Its utility is shown on the example of removal of 2,2,2-trichloroethyl groups from oligoribonucleotide phosphotriester I of sequence CCCAUAA by two methods: /1/ reductive elimination with zinc in the presence of acetylacetone modified as presented here, and /2/ hydrogenolytic dehalogenation over palladium in pyridine. This method of chromatography on Sephadex LH20 is used as a key purification step during the removal of 2,2,2-trichloroethyl groups from I by method /1/ and allows to raise the yield of III during fianl deprotection step from 5 to 65%.