Uranyl Ion as a Highly Effective Catalyst for Internucleotide Bond Formation

Abstract

Abstract Uranyl ion catalyzes the polymerization of adenosine-5′-phosphorimidazolide very efficiently in aqueous solution. Up to 95% of the input adenosine-5′-phosphorimidazolide is converted to oligoadenylates from dimer to hexadecamer when 1 mM of UO22+ is used as a catalyst. The oligomeric products are predominantly 2′–5′ linked. The chain length and the regioselectivity of the resulting oligoadenylates varies greatly with the concentration of the UO22+ ion catalyst and the pH of the reaction medium. A high total yield of oligouridylates up to dodecamer is also obtained by UO22+ ion catalyst with high 2′–5′ regioselectivity. The oligonucleotide formation is mediated by UO22+-nucleotide complex.