Patent ID: 7255991

Claim:
A template-directed process for synthesizing polymers, the process comprising: (a) providing a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) template having binding sites, the template further having a specific chain length and a specific sequence; and (b) generating a sequence-specific polymer along the DNA template, the sequence-specific polymer having a chain length that corresponds to the specific chain length of the template, the sequence-specific polymer defining a sequence that complements the specific sequence defined by the DNA template, the generating of the sequence-specific polymer comprising: (b1) providing modified nucleosides having the hydroxyl at the 5′-carbon replaced with an amine, the modified nucleosides further having the hydroxyl at the 3′-carbon replaced with an acetaldehyde; (b2) pre-arranging the modified nucleosides along the sequence-specific DNA template such that each of the modified nucleosides are bound to their respective complementary binding site on the DNA template; (b3) forming an imine between adjacent modified nucleosides by reacting the amine of one of the adjacent modified nucleosides with the acetaldehyde of the other of the adjacent modified nucleosides; and (b4) reducing the imine to form an amine between the adjacent modified nucleosides.