Patent ID: 6921812

Claim:
A compound of formula II: wherein: each Bx is an optionally protected heterocyclic base moiety; R 1 is hydrogen, hydroxyl, a protected hydroxyl, a nucleoside, a nucleotide, an oligonucleoside, an oligonucleotide or a group of formula I; R 4 is hydrogen, hydroxyl, a protected hydroxyl, a nucleoside, a nucleotide, an oligonucleoside, an oligonucleotide or a group of formula I; each R 2 is a group of formula I: —O—(CH 2 ) n —J (I) wherein: each n is, independently, from 1 to about 10; each J is, independently, a sulfonic acid (—S(═O) 2 OH), a sulfonate salt (—S(═O) 2 O − X + ), a sulfoxide (—S(═O)—Z), a sulfone (—S(═O) 2 —Z), —SH, —S—S—Z, or a thiol (—S—Z); each X + is a metal cation; each Z is, independently, selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 20 alkyl, C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, C 5 -C 20 aryl and C 5 -C 20 aryl substituted C 1 -C 20 alkyl; each R 3 is, independently, hydrogen, hydroxyl, a protected hydroxyl, an optionally protected sugar substituent group or a group of formula I; L is an internucleoside linking group; m is from 3 to about 50; and each mm is, independently, 0 or 1; wherein at least one of said L is other than a phosphodiester internucleoside linkage and at least one of said R 1 , R 2 and R 4 is a group of formula I.