Polyaza crown ether as non-nucleosidic building blocks in DNA-conjugates.

The synthesis of amphiphilic polyaza crown ether monomers X (palmityl-substituted), Y (cholesteryl-substituted) and Z (dipalmityl-subtituted) and their incorporation into oligonucleotides are described. Their effects on thermal duplex stability were investigated by UV melting curve analysis. Thermal denaturation experiments showed remarkable stabilization of dsDNA by polyaza crown ether monomers when incorporated in opposite positions. The series of polyaza crown ether monomers (X, Y, and Z) with different lipophilicity showed a trend of increased stability of the corresponding dsDNA with increasing lipophilicity of the polyaza crown ether monomer.