Fluorescent labeling of s2T-incorporated DNA and m5s2U-modified RNA

We report herein comprehensive investigations of alkylation/sulfur exchange reactions of sulfur-containing substrates including nucleosides such as s²U, m⁵s²U, s⁴U, s²A and s²T-incorporated DNA enable by comprehensive screenings of the reagents (2a-2h). It has been proven that iodoacetamide (2a) displays the most promising feasibility toward sulfur-containing substrates including s²T, s²U, m⁵s²U, s⁴U and s²A. In sharp contrast, the alkylation process with S-benzyl methanethiosulfonate (BMTS, 2h) displays the best application potential only for s⁴U. Based on these results, the fluorescent labeling of s²T-incorporated DNA and m⁵s²U-modified RNA has been achieved.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15257770.2021.1942044 .