RNAi Oligonucleotides

Improve the efficiency of your RNA oligo

Three factors can improve the efficiency of your antisense oligonucleotides:

• The resistance to nuclease before and during residence in cells,
• The ability to cross the cellular membrane with some level of efficiency,
• The binding affinity and specificity for the target sequence.

Resistance to nucleases

Choosing a backbone slightly different of the classical RNA structure may improve stability and resistance of your oligos against nucleases without modifying its function.

• LNA^® (Locked Nucleic Acid) favors RNA A-type helix duplex geometry which confers a very strong thermal stability towards complementary DNA and RNA template suitable for hybridization assays requiring high specificity and/or reproducibility.
• 2’O-Me RNA are partially resistant to a variety of ribo- and deoxyribonucleases. They form more stable hybrids with complementary RNA strands than equivalent DNA/RNA sequences.
• 2’-O-(2-Methoxyethyl)- oligoribonucleotides or 2’-O-MOE have an analog chemical structure to RNA except that a methoxyethyl residue is attached at the 2’-O-position. The chemical group at this position confers to the oligo backbone a highest nuclease resistance and a better binding affinity compared to the classical RNA molecule.
• Phosphorothioate bonds possess an increased resistance against nucleases due to the substitution of a non-bridging oxygen by sulphur.

In addition, using a 3’-terminal cap limits the degradation by nucleases (e.g., 3’-aminopropyl modification or by using a 3’-3’ terminal linkage)