IDT Check Self Dimer

Overview

Check an oligonucleotide for self-complementarity and homodimer (self-dimer) formation using the IDT OligoAnalyzer API. Returns predicted self-dimer structures with their thermodynamic stability (delta-G in kcal/mol), number of base pairs, and alignment diagrams. A more negative delta-G indicates a more stable (problematic) dimer. Risk assessment: delta-G > -3.0 kcal/mol is low risk, -3.0 to -6.0 is moderate risk, < -6.0 is high risk. Use this tool AFTER designing primers (DNA_primer_design or manual) and BEFORE ordering, to verify primers won't form stable homodimers that reduce PCR efficiency. For basic oligo properties (Tm, GC%, MW), use IDT_analyze_oligo instead.

Status

The most recent probe succeeded. Safe to call from the agent today.

Last probed

1d ago

Last success

1d ago

Last latency

84ms

Schema

JSON Schema the agent (or your API call) must match.

{
  "properties": {
    "mg_concentration_mm": {
      "description": "Magnesium (Mg2+) concentration in millimolar (mM). Default: 0 mM.",
      "type": [
        "number",
        "null"
      ]
    },
    "na_concentration_mm": {
      "description": "Sodium (Na+) concentration in millimolar (mM). Affects dimer stability. Default: 50 mM.",
      "type": [
        "number",
        "null"
      ]
    },
    "sequence": {
      "description": "Oligonucleotide sequence (5' to 3'). Must contain only A, T, C, G, U bases. Length: 5-200 bases. Example: 'AGCGGATAACAATTTCACACAGGA'",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "temperature_celsius": {
      "description": "Temperature in Celsius for dimer stability calculation. Use your expected annealing temperature. Default: 25.",
      "type": [
        "number",
        "null"
      ]
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "sequence"
  ],
  "type": "object"
}

Examples (1)

{
  "sequence": ""
}

Identifiers

Catalog ID

tu_IDT_check_self_dimer

Tool name

IDT_check_self_dimer

Added

2026-05-01 00:58Z

Tags

tooluniverse