The effect of a single boranophosphate substitution with defined configuration on the thermal stability and conformation of a DNA duplex.

Substitution of one non-bridging oxygen in a natural phosphodiester internucleotide linkage with a borano (-BH3) group results in a chiral phosphorus center in boranophosphate. UV thermal melting profiles were recorded for DNA duplexes formed between a DNA 9-mer with either an Sp or a Rp boranophosphate linkage in the middle and the complementary DNA 9-mer, as well as for their unmodified parent duplex. The thermal stability of the DNA duplexes was in the order of normal > Sp borano > Rp borano.

Reading, writing, and modulating genetic information with boranophosphate mimics of nucleotides, DNA, and RNA.

The P-boranophosphates are efficient and near perfect mimics of natural nucleic acids in permitting reading and writing of genetic information with high yield and accuracy. Substitution of a borane (-BH3) group for oxygen in the phosphate ester bond creates an isoelectronic and isosteric mimic of natural nucleotide phosphate esters found in mononucleotides, i.e.

RNase H activation by stereoregular boranophosphate oligonucleotide.

A stereoregular all-(Sp)-boranophosphate oligodeoxyribonucleotide (BH3(-)-ODN) 15-mer was synthesized using an enzymatic approach. The BH3(-)-ODN formed a hybrid with the complementary RNA 15-mer and induced RNase H hydrolysis of the RNA strand at ODN concentrations as low as 10 nM at 37 degrees C, but with a lower efficiency than that of its natural phosphodiester analogue.