Disaccharide Nucleosides and their Incorporation into Oligonucleotides

The review summarizes structural features, biological activity and synthetic methods of disaccharide nucleosides. In the first part the structures of natural disaccharide nucleosides are presented. The consequent part deals with general methods of synthesis of these compounds - formation of new N-and O-glycosidic bonds. Recent achievements in the preparation of disaccharide nucleosides from natural nucleosides are discussed. The last part is devoted to the synthesis and properties of oligonucleotides containing disaccharide nucleosides.