Oligonucleotide-Carbohydrate Conjugates

Nucleic acids have been widely investigated as biological tools for various applications including gene silencing, DNA chips and drug targets. Interactions involving nucleic acids are generally well known making their rationalization straightforward. However, they generally suffer from a lack of bioavailability. One of the main strategies to overcome these limitations is the conjugation of oligonucleotides with an appropriate reporter. As carbohydrates are involved in a huge variety of biological processes including molecular and cell surface recognitions, oligonucleotide glycoconjugates are perhaps one of the most promising approaches to improving cellular delivery of oligonucleotides. Other applications of these conjugates have emerged like the use of DNAdirected immobilization to prepare carbohydrate biochips or the construction of glycoclusters by self organization of oligonucleotides. This chapter summarizes the applications of these conjugates and approaches to prepare them through some recent examples.

Keywords: Nucleic acids, conjugation, solid-supported synthesis, chemoselectivity