Synthesis and Application of Photocleavable Oligonucleotides Containing 1,2‐Diol‐Conjugated Phosphotriester

Photocleavable oligonucleotides (ONs) containing a nonnucleosidic photocleavable spacer have been applied in a variety of chemical and biological tools. In this study, novel photocleavable ONs containing 1,2-diol-conjugated phosphotriesters without an extra spacer are designed and synthesized. The ONs containing cyclic 1,2-diol efficiently self-cleave in neutral aqueous solution upon photoirradiation, forming stable duplexes with the complementary strands. The thermal stability of the duplex is significantly reduced after photoirradiation. This characteristic is applied to DNA-templated synthesis in the presence of competitive ONs.