New acid photogenerators based on thioxanthen-9-one sulfonium derivatives for detritylation in the oligonucleotide synthesis

Photochemical activity of a number of cationic thioxanthen-9-one derivatives for the formation of the trityl cation was studied, which resulted in the selection of compounds suitable for photodetritylation. 10-(4-Heptyloxyphenyl)-9-oxo-2-(N,N,N-triethylammonio)methyl-9H-thioxanthenium bis(hexafluorophosphate) and 2-methyl-, 2-(2-methyl-1-propanoyl-2-tosyl)-, 1-chloro-4-propoxy-, and 2,4-diethyl-10-(4-heptyloxyphenyl)-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthenium hexafluorophosphates were found to be photoactivators of detritylation of 5′-O-(4,4′-dimethoxytrityl)thymidine. The detritylation reaction is the most efficient in dichloromethane. 2,4-Diethyl-10-(4-heptyloxyphenyl)-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthenium hexafluorophosphate was used as a detritylation photoactivator in the oligonucleotide synthesis using an automated DNA synthesizer. The yield in the elongation step of the oligonucleotide chain was 98%.