Oligos make life better—here’s 10 ways how

The Takeaway: Oligos are short strands of synthetic DNA. First used in the 1950s, oligos have since helped revolutionize many areas of modern medicine, and they continue to impact our world in many ways.

Oligos, or oligonucleotides, are short nucleic acid polymers used in various scientific and medical applications. Read on to learn about ten notable ways oligonucleotides are revolutionizing life and medicine. First, though, a little background.

What are oligos?

Oligos, short for oligonucleotides, are short sequences of nucleic acids that are the building blocks of DNA and RNA. IDT sequences typically consist of 10 to 100 nucleotides and are synthesized in our labs for research applications.

There are two primary types of oligonucleotides:

DNA oligonucleotides: These are short sequences of DNA nucleotides, typically synthesized using chemical methods. DNA oligos are widely used in techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, gene synthesis, gene editing, and molecular cloning.

RNA oligonucleotides: These are short sequences of RNA nucleotides. RNA oligos have diverse applications, including gene silencing through techniques like RNA interference (RNAi) and antisense therapy, as well as in research areas such as RNA structure analysis and RNA-protein interactions.

How are oligos making life better?

Oligos are versatile tools in molecular biology and biotechnology due to their ability to hybridize specifically with complementary nucleic acid sequences. This property is exploited in various techniques for gene manipulation, detection, and analysis. Additionally, oligos can be chemically modified to enhance their stability, specificity, and other properties, expanding their utility in research and therapeutic applications. IDT’s oligos are strictly used for research use only.

Genetic engineering: Oligos are crucial tools in genetic engineering, enabling scientists to manipulate DNA sequences for various purposes such as gene editing and recombinant DNA technology.

PCR primer design: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) relies on oligonucleotide primers to amplify specific DNA sequences, facilitating numerous applications in research, diagnostics, and forensics.

Gene synthesis: Oligos are used in gene synthesis to assemble artificial genes for research and to advance our understanding of genetics and molecular biology. Note that IDT manufactures oligos for strictly RUO purposes. 

Gene silencing: Oligonucleotides such as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are employed to silence or modulate gene expression, providing insights into gene function and offering new potential research for treating genetic disorders and diseases.

Antisense therapy: Antisense oligonucleotides can bind to specific mRNA sequences, preventing translation or promoting degradation of the target mRNA, leading to additional research into the development of antisense therapy for various diseases, including cancer and genetic disorders.

Diagnostic tools: Oligos are utilized in various diagnostic techniques such as qPCR and DNA microarrays and sequencing, enabling the detection and analysis of genetic variations associated with diseases, pathogens, and other biological phenomena.

Drug development: Oligonucleotides serve as the basis for developing nucleic acid-based therapeutics, including RNA-based vaccines, gene therapies, and aptamer-based drugs, offering promising approaches for treating a wide range of diseases.

Biotechnology: Oligos are integral components in biotechnological applications such as in vitro mutagenesis, site-directed mutagenesis, and protein engineering, facilitating the study and manipulation of proteins and enzymes for research and industrial purposes.

Forensic analysis: Oligos are used in forensic DNA analysis for identifying individuals, determining paternity, and solving crimes by analyzing DNA samples collected from crime scenes or other sources.

Research tools: Oligonucleotides serve as versatile tools in molecular biology research, including qPCR, DNA sequencing, cloning, site-directed mutagenesis, and in vitro gene expression studies, contributing to advancements in various fields of science and medicine.

These accomplishments highlight the diverse and impactful roles that oligonucleotides play in advancing scientific knowledge, technology, and medicine.

IDT oligos

IDT has been a leading manufacturer of oligos for more than 35 years, with customers consistently receiving high-quality oligos thanks to improvements in traditional synthesis chemistries and advances in our proprietary synthesis platform. This means IDT can synthesize longer oligos, with better sequence fidelity and at a higher percentage of full-product length, than competitors.

• Proprietary synthesis platform: Nearly everything IDT uses to produce an oligo is made in-house. IDT formulates all its own key synthesis reagents in-house, and designs, manufactures, and calibrates its own DNA synthesizers and manufacturing software.
• Highly streamlined synthesis process: All IDT synthesis platforms use solid-state synthesis to produce oligos, meaning they are tethered to a solid surface while they are made.
• Phosphoramidite approach: The synthesis process adds nucleotides one by one, using a repeated 4-step cycle of deblocking, coupling, capping, and oxidation for each A, C, T, or G addition, with repeated cycling, final processing, and desalting.
• Oligo purification: IDT uses PAGE and HPLC purification methods
• Quality control: IDT uses electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis.

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