What is SELEX?
SELEX stands for Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment. It is a technique used to identify and isolate specific nucleic acid molecules, such as DNA or RNA aptamers, that can bind to a target molecule with high affinity and specificity.
The SELEX process involves several iterative rounds of selection and amplification, where a diverse pool of nucleic acid molecules is exposed to the target molecule. After each round, the bound nucleic acid molecules are separated from the unbound ones, and the bound molecules are then amplified through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) for RNA-based SELEX.
During subsequent rounds, the selection conditions are made more stringent to enrich for the nucleic
acid molecules that have the highest affinity for the target. As the process continues, the pool of
aptamers becomes increasingly enriched for those that can effectively bind to the target, leading to the isolation of specific aptamers with strong binding affinities.