Synthesis and characterization of viologen-modified oligodeoxynucleotides.

Several viologen-tagged oligodeoxynucleotides in the form of covalent linkage at the specific site of the phosphorous backbone were synthesized and characterized. Incorporation of viologen molecules was confirmed by the 31P-NMR, 20% PAGE analysis, enzymatic degradation, and uv, ESR spectra of the derived cation radical. The Tm values and CD spectra of the modified strands with their complementary strands indicate that the introduction of the viologen molecule via linker arm causes no significant perturbation in duplex structure.