Determining the physical characteristics of your oligos

IDT offers a powerful analytical tool for determining the properties of oligo sequences—the OligoAnalyzer Tool. This tool calculates the physical characteristics of any oligo sequence, including length, GC content, melting temperature (T_m), molecular weight, extinction coefficient, and optical density. Access the OligoAnalyzer Tool from under the “Tools” heading on any page of the IDT website (Figure 1).

Enter your sequence into the “Sequence” box in the 5’ to 3’ orientation (Figure 2, Arrow 1).The OligoAnalyzer Tool accommodates DNA, RNA, mixed bases, and a variety of modifications, which can be selected from the menus under the Sequence box (Figure 2, Arrow 2). To get the correct T_m, it is important to enter the Mg²⁺ and dNTP concentrations you will use in your experiment (Figure 2, Arrow 3). Please note that the T_m reported on the specification sheet shipped with IDT oligos uses default settings of 0 nM Mg²⁺ and 0 mM dNTPs, and thus, will usually differ from the T_m calculated here. The “Analyze” button (Figure 2, Arrow 4) will produce the complementary sequence, GC content, T_m, molecular weight, and extinction coefficient. You can also run Self-Dimer and Hairpin analyses of your sequence from the Sequence entry screen (Figure 2, selections below Arrow 4).

The ΔG value (Figure 3, Panel A) gives an indication of the strength of the secondary structure. IDT recommends the ΔG value be more than –9 for self-dimers and hetero-dimers. For hairpins, the T_m should be lower than the temperature at which the oligo will be used (Figure 3, Panel B).

If you need help with the program, the “Instructions” link provides step-by-step guidance on how to use the OligoAnalyzer Tool. The “Definitions” link gives an explanation of terms and equations the program uses to determine T_m and extinction coefficient (Figure 4, Arrow).

And, of course, you can always contact an IDT Customer Care Representative.