NUCLEOTIDE COUPLING IN REVERSE MICELLES

Nucleotide coupling was investigated in reverse micelles formed by (ce tyl)trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), in hexane/pentan-1-ol. In partic ular, the coupling of 2'-deoxy-5'-O-methylcytidine 3'-O-phosphate, pre pared by phosphoramidite chemistry, with 5'-amino-5'-deoxythymidine wa s studied in the presence of a H2O-soluble carbodiimide at w(o) = 11 a nd 22 (w(o) = [H2O]/[CTAB]). The effect of w(o) on the reaction rate w as investigated. A solid-phase strategy was developed for the synthesi s of methyl-cytidyl-(3'-5')-5'-amino-5'-deoxythymidine. The nucleotide coupling yielding the expected product occurred readily in reverse mi celles. Nucleotide coupling is thus possible in reverse micelles, and this is discussed in connection with the micellar self-replication pro gram.