| abstract |
Hydroxyl-protecting groups orthogonally removable by reduction with a liquid reducing agent are disclosed. The novel hydroxyl-protecting groups are particularly useful in the chemical synthesis of linear and branched oligonucleotide structures, as they are readily removed from the protected molecule with mild reagents such as dithionite. Examples of such hydroxyl-protecting groups include the 2-methylene-9,10-anthraquinone (Maq) carbonate ester and the p-nitrobenzyl carbonate ester. |