The Core of DNA Synthesis

Editor's note: This is the second of a three-part series on tools for core facilities. The last installment in the series, on peptide synthesizers, will appear in the Sept. 16 issue. As the biotech revolution has exploded, so too has the market for oligonucleotides. And as the number of labs in need of these tools has grown, so has the science of their synthesis. In response, oligonucleotides, which are short, synthetic RNA or DNA sequences, have gone from luxury item status to that of a standar

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But some core facilities are now questioning whether offering DNA synthesis services still makes good economic sense. These facilities must compete with large, custom DNA-synthesis facilities, which can generally produce oligos less expensively. Maintenance costs for core facilities are high, and without a client volume large enough to justify the expense, some universities have opted to shut down these particular services. Yet core facility operators contend they have a role to play in the biotech market, saying that their higher prices are offset by better service and quality control.

Today's DNA synthesizers are essentially sophisticated fluid-handling devices that make a complicated chemical process as simple as entering the desired sequence into a central workstation. Since 1984, researchers have used solid-phase synthesis to manufacture oligonucleo-tides, a technique similar to the one they use to create polypeptides. This method begins with a primary residue (the 3'-most nucleotide) anchored to a solid support. ...

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