Embodiments of the invention include thioether substituted aryl carbonate
protecting groups, and nucleoside monomers protected with thioether
substituted aryl carbonate protecting groups. Aspects of the invention
further included methods of synthesizing nucleic acids, e.g.,
oligonucleotides, using such protected nucleoside monomer monomers, as
well as nucleic acids produced using methods of the invention and
compositions thereof.