AltOligo: Alternative chemistry for oligonucleotide synthesis using Nanostar Sieving

数以百万计的分子是由单个构件（单体）的重复单元组成的。DNA和RNA是由重复核苷酸构成的重要天然聚合物。化学修饰短链RNA（寡核苷酸）的制造为新疗法的发展显示了巨大的希望。它目前是通过固相合成来实现的，在固相合成中，生长的低聚物与不溶性底物结合，每次添加一个单体。固相合成难以规模化，纯度低，导致价格高。英国初创公司Exactmer开发了一项专利技术，使聚合物合成完全在液相中，以克服这些障碍。欧盟资助的NANOLIGO项目将把这项技术推向市场，有可能显著加快新型复杂聚合物药物的开发，并降低制造成本。

Millions of molecules are made of repeating units of individual building blocks (monomers). DNA and RNA are important natural polymers made of repeating nucleotides as building blocks. The manufacture of short strands of chemically modified RNA (oligonucleotides) has shown great promise for the development of novel therapies. It is currently achieved using solid-phase synthesis in which the growing oligo is bound to an insoluble substrate and monomers are added one at a time. Solid-phase synthesis is difficult to scale and the resulting purity is low, leading to high prices. The UK start-up Exactmer has developed patented technology enabling polymer synthesis entirely in the liquid phase to overcome these obstacles. The EU-funded NANOLIGO project will bring this technology to market with the potential to significantly speed the development of novel complex polymeric pharmaceuticals and slash manufacturing costs.