A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Post-SELEX modification of quinine aptamers through neoacetalization




AuthorsKähkölä, Heidi; Herath, Muditha; Virta, Pasi; Lönnberg, Tuomas

PublisherRoyal Society of Chemistry (RSC)

Publication year2025

JournalOrganic and Biomolecular Chemistry

Journal name in sourceOrganic & Biomolecular Chemistry

Volume23

Issue7

First page 1714

Last page1722

ISSN1477-0520

eISSN1477-0539

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1039/d4ob01973c

Web address https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ob01973c

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/485049171


Abstract

In this article, a neoacetalization-based method for post-SELEX modification of aptamers is introduced. Three modified quinine binding aptamer scaffolds were synthesized by replacing three different nucleosides of the binding site with a (2R,3S)-4-(methoxyamino)butane-1,2,3-triol residue. These aptamer scaffolds were incubated in different aldehyde mixtures with and without quinine, allowing the reversible formation of N-methoxy-1,3-oxazinane (MOANA) nucleoside analogues through dynamic combinatorial chemistry. UHPLC-MS analysis identified two aldehydes, namely methyl 4-formylbenzoate and 3-nitrobenzaldehyde, with significantly different tendency to react with one of the aptamer scaffolds in the presence and absence of quinine. The quinine binding affinity of these two modified aptamers was determined by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Unexpectedly, the 3-nitrobenzaldehyde derivatized aptamer dimerized on binding quinine at the relatively high concentration of the ITC. In addition, we discovered that with another modified aptamer, quinine binding caused cleavage of the N–O bond of the (2R,3S)-4-(methoxyamino)butane-1,2,3-triol residue.


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Funding information in the publication
The financial support from the Finnish Cultural Foundation (decision number 00230689) is gratefully acknowledged.


Last updated on 2025-11-03 at 07:49