. Can. J. Chem. 68, 201 1 (1990). Syntheses via the phosphotriester method are described for DNA oligonucleotides containing 04-ethylated thymine (e4Thy) and adenine (Ade) bases, d ( e V p~) , d (~~e~~) , and ~( A~~V~A ) , for their unmodified analogs, d(TpA), d(ApT), and d(ApTpA), and for d(TpeVpT). 'H NMR chemical shift data obtained from 10 to 70°C at 300 and 500 MHz show that these molecules form right-handed minihelices at low temperature in aqueous solution; the presence of the 04-ethyl group does not seem to have a drastic effect on the stacking geometry of the thymine base. The presence of right-handed stacking is confirmed by circular dichroic data obtained over a similar temperature range. Coupling constants for the sugar ring indicate that the e V P unit of d ( e 4 T p~) does not show the shift towards the 3'-endo ( N ) pucker noted for the corresponding unit of d(e4TpT). A prominent quasimolecular ion peak [M -HI-is observed for the modified and unmodified molecules in the spectra obtained by Fast Atom Bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS) operating in the negative ion mode, indicating that the labile 04-ethyl group is sufficiently stable to withstand the ionization process used in this method. In addition, a number of fragment ion peaks such as [04-ethylthymine -HI-are observed that reveal the potential of FAB-MS for characterizing DNA oligomers modified by alkylating agents.Key words: oligonucleotides, 0-alkylation, stereochemistry, NMR, mass spectrometry.