Chapter 7 - Oligonucleotide Synthesis

Abstract

Oligonucleotides, short single-stranded nucleic acids, are used for a number of applications in molecular biology and biotechnology. They are used as primers for DNA sequencing and PCR reactions, as probes for hybridization assays in gene detection, as building blocks for the construction of synthetic genes, and as antisense molecules for the control of gene expression. This chapter describes the mathematics involved in monitoring the synthesis of DNA using the phosphoramidite method.