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Updated: May 8, 2026

Improving Small RNA-seq: Less Bias and Better Detection of 2'-O-Methyl RNAs
Published on: September 16, 2019
Solid-phase synthesis, characterization and RNAi activity of branch and hyperbranch siRNAs
Anthony Maina1, Brittany A Blackman, Christopher J Parronchi
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ 07079, USA.
Abstract:
Linear, branch and hyperbranch siRNAs were effectively prepared for down-regulating GRP78 expression and inducing cell death in HepG2 liver cancer cells. Branch and hyperbranch GRP78 siRNAs were synthesized by automated solid-phase synthesis in good yields (44-78%) and isolated in excellent purities (>99%) following HPLC purification. Moreover, siRNAs adopted stable intramolecular hybrids as discerned by native PAGE and thermal denaturation studies. These sequences also exhibited the pre-requisite A-type helical trajectory for triggering RNAi activity as determined by CD spectroscopy. Biological studies confirmed potent suppression of GRP78 expression (50-60%) while compromising cancer cell viability by ~20%. Thus, branch and hyperbranch siRNAs may serve as potent siRNA candidates in cancer gene therapy applications.
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