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Aggregation and Disaggregation of Morpholino Oligomers in Solution

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Morpholino Oligomers

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1565))

Abstract

Morpholino oligomers are effective antisense molecules to regulate gene expression and the US FDA has approved a Morpholino drug for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. However, it has been observed that the antisense activities of aqueous solutions of some Morpholinos decrease over time. We hypothesize that the decreased activity is caused by the formation of soluble aggregates of the Morpholinos. Here, we analyzed three Morpholino sequences by size exclusion chromatography and found two of them have over time formed soluble aggregates in water. The degree of aggregation is sequence-, temperature-, and time-dependent. We describe a simple procedure for detecting and breaking down the aggregates to return the Morpholinos to their monomeric forms.

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Correspondence to Hong M. Moulton .

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Chow, G., Morcos, P.A., Moulton, H.M. (2017). Aggregation and Disaggregation of Morpholino Oligomers in Solution. In: Moulton, H., Moulton, J. (eds) Morpholino Oligomers. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1565. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6817-6_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6817-6_3

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6815-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6817-6

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