Synthesis of Polynucleotide Analogs Containing a Polyvinyl Alcohol Backbone

Water soluble homo-base polynucleotide analogues were synthesized in whichpolyvinyl alcohol and partially phosphonated polyvinyl alcohol constituted the backbones,onto which were grafted uracil or adenine via 1,3-dioxane spacers formed by acetalformation with the 1,3-diol moieties in PVA. The resulting adenine-PVA polynucleotideanalogs exhibited hyperchromic effects, which was not the case for the correspondinguracil compounds. Mixtures of the adenine- and aracil PVA-phosphate polynucleotideanalogs in solutions exhibited characteristic S-shaped UV-absorbance vs temperature andmelting curves with melting points at approximately 40 oC.