Synthesis
Automated synthesis of oligonucleotides.
Advanced synthesis chemistry and state-of-the-art parallel DNA synthesisers allow today for a fast and efficient production of oligonucleotides of almost all sequences. In a so-called solid-phase synthesis the desired oligonucleotide sequence is synthesised onto an inert solid support, from which it is cleaved after the synthesis has been completed. In comparison to a synthesis in liquid phase, the solid-phase synthesis has the big advantage of not having to isolate the different intermediate products - a tedious and time consuming work - but being able to remove unused reagents and certain by-products by applying simple washing and filtration steps.