MARCH 2009 Volume 20, Number 3 Copyright 2009 by the American Chemical Society
Editorial: “Conjugates of Oligonucleotides and Modified Oligonucleotides”: A Memorable Review by John Goodchild DNA and RNA oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide conjugates play a critical role in modern day biochemistry and molecular biology research. For example, these agents are used as hybridization probes to detect and characterize DNA; as primers to amplify DNA through polymerase chain reactions (PCR); as primers for DNA sequencing; as substrates for site-directed mutagenesis; as agents for controlling gene expression at both the DNA and RNA level; and as substrates for a variety of biochemical and biophysical studies. In addition, there have been intensive efforts to develop oligonucleotide-based diagnostic and therapeutic agents. The extensive use of oligonucleotides in these applications has been made possible by the development of automated synthetic procedures. Equally important has been the development of methods to synthesize oligonucleotide conjugates containing various linkers, functional groups, fluorescent tags, and other modifications that impart specific properties, such as nuclease resistance, to the oligonucleotides. The syntheses and properties of oligonucleotide conjugates were extensively reviewed in an article by John Goodchild that appeared in the May/June issue of Bioconjugate Chemistry in 1990 (1). This article, which has been cited at least 370 times since its appearance, described methods, both chemical and enzymatic, for preparing backbone modified oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide conjugates, and summarized the general biophysical and biological properties of these molecules. The preparation of modified oligonucleotides and their conjugates continues to be an active and productive area of research as evidenced by the many articles in this area that continue to appear in this journal. Many of the methods described in Goodchild’s review are still used today, and reagents for preparing an ever-widening variety of conjugates are commercially available. Because of their central role in molecular biology and their emerging importance as diagnostic/therapeutic tools, it is safe to say that we can look forward to even more novel types and applications of oligonucleotide conjugates in the years to come. Paul S. Miller Bloomberg School of Public Health, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins UniVersity, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21205
LITERATURE CITED (1) Goodchild, J. (1990) Conjugates of oligonucleotides and modified oligonucleotides: a review of their synthesis and properties. Bioconjugate Chem. 1, 165–187. BC9000855
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10.1021/bc9000855 CCC: $40.75 2009 American Chemical Society Published on Web 03/18/2009
