Isolating aptamers using capillary electrophoresis-SELEX (CE-SELEX)

SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) is a process for isolating DNA or RNA sequences with high affinity and selectivity for molecular targets from random sequence libraries. These sequences are commonly referred to as aptamers. The process typically requires 10-15 cycles of enrichment, PCR amplification and nucleic acid purification to obtain high-affinity aptamers. We have demonstrated that using capillary electrophoresis (CE) as an enrichment step greatly improves the efficiency of the process. CE-SELEX is capable of isolating high-affinity aptamers in as little as 2-4 rounds of selection, shortening the process time from several weeks to as little as a few days.