Oligonucleotide synthesis is the process of creating short chains of DNA or RNA consisting of several nucleotides that can be used as artificial nucleotide sequences. Oligonucleotides are chemically synthesized by sequentially attaching nucleotides to a growing chain, thus creating arbitrary nucleotide sequences.

Oligonucleotide synthesis begins by selecting the nucleotide sequence to be synthesized. Then, in an automated synthesizer, the nucleotides are added one by one in the desired order until the complete oligonucleotide chain is synthesized.

To order nucleotide synthesis, please send a request with your sequences to our manager.

The most common approach to oligonucleotide synthesis is automated phosphoramidite (aminophosphate) synthesis, which uses nucleotide phosphoramidite monomers protected by acid-labile groups. An activating agent binds each monomer to a growing oligonucleotide on a solid substrate. After each combination step, oxidation converts the unstable phosphite bond to phosphate, then a deblocking step prepares the oligonucleotide for the next cycle. Once all cycles are completed, the oligonucleotide with the desired sequence is detached from the solid substrate.

Oligonucleotides are used as primers for polymerase chain reactions (PCR) and as probes for various hybridization techniques.

Primers are necessary to initiate the synthesis of a new chain in a polymerase chain reaction. If a complementary primer to the target DNA/RNA is selected, the addition of DNA polymerase to the reaction will result in the sequential addition of nucleotides complementary to the matrix chain.

A key advantage of synthetic oligonucleotides is the ability to introduce modifications that are not present in natural DNA. Modification of oligonucleotides occurs, for example, by attaching fluorophores. Fluorophores are chemical compounds capable of re-emitting light when excited by light. It is a functional group in a molecule that is responsible for its fluorescent properties. Oligonucleotides modified with fluorophores are used as fluorescently labeled probes (markers) to identify a specific sequence in DNA.

Oligonucleotides are used to solve problems in molecular biological research, including sequencing, PCR, gene therapy and other genetic research, disease diagnosis, protein synthesis, etc. The use of antisense oligonucleotides can be used in a variety of applications. In contrast, antisense oligonucleotides block protein synthesis because they can bind to mRNA through complementary base pairing.

The ultimate goal of much molecular biology research is to understand gene function and regulation. Oligonucleotide synthesis is essential to achieve this goal and is a reliable and efficient toolkit that enables the study of DNA and RNA at the molecular level.

Biolabmix offers off-the-shelf oligonucleotides and custom oligonucleotide synthesis. Off-the-shelf oligonucleotides are mixtures of synthesized random hexamers and nonamers, as well as a deoxythymidine-containing synthetic 18-mer single-stranded DNA oligonucleotide that hybridizes to the poly(A) 3' end of mRNA.

We custom synthesize highly purified oligonucleotides on small and large scales, from a few nanomoles for a single experiment to quantities of several millimoles. Unpurified oligonucleotides may contain failed sequences and purification is recommended. Techniques such as HPLC and PAAG allow for length separation. Quality control is an important synthesis step that all our products undergo. We check the purity of the produced oligonucleotides on chromatograph and mass spectrometer, which guarantees you high quality of the supplied products.

To order nucleotide synthesis, please send a request with your sequences to our manager.