The development of a versatile amine releasing linker based on the modified o-nitrobenzene sulfonamide protective group is described. This new N-Boc-o-nitrobenzenesulfonamide (Boc-ONBS) linker enables the elaboration on resin of primary and secondary amines by sequential substitution of the sulfonamide moiety using the Mitsunobu reaction. A 16-member array of secondary and Boc protected primary amines was then prepared using this linker. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.