Patent ID: 7056896

Claim:
A method for reducing the undesired production of a protein in an organism, said method comprising contacting said organism with a compound of formula: wherein: each B is a nucleobase; one of X 1 or X 2 is O, and the other of X 1 or X 2 is S; each R 1, is, independently, H, hydroxyl, C 1 –C 20 alkyl, C 3 –C 20 alkenyl, C 2 –C 20 alkynyl, halogen, thiol, keto, carboxyl, nitro, nitroso, nitrile, trifluoromethyl, trifluoromethoxy, O-alkyl, S-alkyl, NH-alkyl, N-dialkyl, O-aryl, S-aryl, NH-aryl, O-aralkyl, S-aralkyl, NH-aralkyl, amino, N-phthalimido, imidazole, azido, hydrazino, hydroxylamino, isocyanato, sulfoxide, sulfone, sulfide, disulfide, silyl, aryl, heterocycle, carbocycle, intercalator, reporter molecule, conjugate, polyamine, polyamide, polyalkylene glycol, or polyether; or R 1 is a group of formula Z-R 22 —(R 23 ) v ; Z is O, S, NH, or N—R 22 —(R 23 ) v ; R 22 is C 1 –C 20 alkyl, C 2 –C 20 alkenyl, or C 2 –C 20 alkynyl; R 23 is hydrogen, amino, halogen, hydroxyl, thiol, keto, carboxyl, nitro, nitroso, nitrile, trifluoromethyl, trifluoromethoxy, O-alkyl, S-alkyl, NH-alkyl, N-dialkyl, O-aryl, S-aryl, NH-aryl, O-aralkyl, S-aralkyl, NH-aralkyl, amino, N-phthalimido, imidazole, azido, hydrazino, hydroxylamino, isocyanato, sulfoxide, sulfone, sulfide, disulfide, silyl, aryl, heterocycle, carbocycle, intercalator, reporter molecule, conjugate, polyamine, polyamide, polyalkylene glycol, or polyether; v is from 0 to about 10; or R 1 has the formula: wherein: y1 is 0 or 1; y2 is independently 0 to 10; y3 is 1 to 10; E is C 1 –C 10 alkyl, N(Q 1 )(Q 2 ) or N═C(Q 1 )(Q 2 ); each Q 1 and Q 2 is, independently, H, C 1 –C 10 alkyl, substituted alkyl, dialkylaminoalkyl, a nitrogen protecting group, a tethered or untethered conjugate group, a linker to a solid support; or Q 1 and Q 2 , together, are joined in a nitrogen protecting group or a ring structure that can include at least one additional heteroatom selected from N and O; or R 1 has one of formula I or II: wherein: Z 0 is O, S, or NH; q 1 is from 0 to 10; q 2 is from 1 to 10; q 3 is 0 or 1; q 4 is, 0, 1 or 2; Z 4 is OM 1 , SM 1 , or N(M 1 ) 2 ; each M 1 is, independently, H, C 1 –C 8 alkyl, C 1 –C 8 haloalkyl, C(═NH)N(H)M 2 , C(═O)N(H)M 2 or OC(═O)N(H)M 2 ; M 2 is H or C 1 –C 8 alkyl; Z 1 , Z 2 and Z 3 comprise a ring system having from about 4 to about 7 carbon atoms, or having from about 3 to about 6 carbon atoms and 1 or 2 hetero atoms wherein said hetero atoms are selected from oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, and wherein said ring system is aliphatic, unsaturated aliphatic, aromatic, or saturated or unsaturated heterocyclic; and Z 5 is alkyl or haloalkyl having 1 to about 10 carbon atoms, alkenyl having 2 to about 10 carbon atoms, alkynyl having 2 to about 10 carbon atoms, aryl having 6 to about 14 carbon atoms, N(Q 1 )(Q 2 ), OQ 1 , halo, SQ 1 or CN; n is from 2 to 50; and m is 0 or 1.