Preparation and chromatographic use of 5'-fluorescent-labelled DNA probes

A convenient procedure for synthesizing and purifying fluorescently-labelled short DNA probes is reported. DNA probes were chemically synthesized on an automated instrument using the "Aminolink" reagent in the final cycle to attach a primary amino group at the 5'-terminus in the final step. The synthetic oligonucleotides were purified by polyacrylamide urea gel electrophoresis, followed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The oligomers were then allowed to react with a fluorescent compound, and the products were separated by HPLC with consecutive detection by UV absorption and fluorescence. Gel permeation chromatography demonstrated that the fluorescent probes were able to form stable hybrids with complementary oligodeoxynucleotides. Furthermore, essentially 100% of the purified fluorescent probe was capable of hybridizing to its complementary strand. Special precautions in handling the fluorescent probes, such as stability, were investigated.