A compound which can be attached to a solid support and used as a reagent for methods of solid phase synthesis has the following structure: (I) where Ri is selected from hydrogen and C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl; R.sub.2 is selected from hydrogen, hydroxy, and C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkoxy, or together R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 form a single bond; R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 are the same or different from each other and each represents hydrogen, C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl, and halogen, or together R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 with R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 form an aromatic ring, further wherein the aromatic ring is substituted with one or more X; X is selected from halogen, nitro, amino, and aminocarbonyl; s is 0, 1, 2, or 3, t is 0, 1, 2, or 3, wherein s+t.gtoreq.1; R.sub.7 and R.sub.8 are the same or different from each other and each represents hydroxy, halogen, hydrogen, C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkoxy, oxyacyl, or together R.sub.7 and R.sub.8 form a carbonyl; Y is selected from a methylene or substituted methylene, nucleoside, nucleotide, protected nucleoside, protected nucleotide, C.sub.1-C.sub.6 aryl, arylalkyl, heteroalkyl, heterocycle, and heteroaryl; n is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10; Z is selected from OR and NHR; R is selected from hydrogen, SiR.sup.a, R.sup.bR.sup.c, CR.sup.aR.sup.b, R.sup.c, heteroalkyl, and C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl; R.sup.a, R.sup.b, and R.sup.c are the same as or different from each other and each represents methyl, ethyl, i-propyl, t-butyl, phenyl or substituted phenyl.