SURFACE REACTIVE POLYMERS FOR SPECIAL APPLICATIONS IN NUCLEIC-ACID SYNTHESIS

This publication reviews work done in the authors' laboratories on the functionalization of surface-reactive polymers and their application as a basis for the preparation of oligonucleotides of extended length, larger number or quantity. In addition to nonporous particulate mater ials (silicagel microbeads; polystyrene-grafted polytetrafluoroethylen e particles) special focus is on recent work describing the introducti on of spacered amino groups into polypropylene films and the preparati on of oligonucleotides on polypropylene surface. A prototype apparatus is shown, for use with a four-column DNA synthesizer, that permits th e semi-mechanized preparation of a one-dimensional array of oligonucle otides of variant sequence.