Aptamers can be selected against any type of target (small molecules, peptides, proteins, cells, etc.) and characterized in terms of affinity, specificity and biological activity. It is also possible to conjugate the aptamer with a fluorophore or radioactive molecule for imaging. Aptamers can thus be used as therapeutics or diagnostic molecules.

 Recently, we developed a method (PATTERNITY.seq) to improve aptamer selection by high-throughput sequencing. This « Big data » solution allows an analysis of molecular evolution with unprecedented resolution.

The platform is open to fee for service or collaborative projects with industry or academic laboratories. By ensuring the protection of the intellectual property (patents, confidentiality agreements, MTAs, etc.), we work with our partners to meet their needs as closely as possible.

Activities

• Aptamer synthesis, purification and labelling
• Semi-automated aptamer selection
• High-throughput sequencing and aptamer prediction based on PATTERNITY.seq
• Aptamer engineering (size reduction, chemical modifications, fluorescent and radioactive labeling)
• Characterization of affinity (Kd, Kon, Koff, Cmax) and cell internalization
• In vivo biological effect of aptamers can be explored through MIRCen’s imaging platforms (optical imaging and PET)
  

​ Robot for the selection and characterization of aptamers	​ Improvement of aptamer affinity for MCF-7 cells by molecular engineering. Top : affinity of the starting aptamer ; Down : affinity of the improved aptamer
​ High-throughput sequencing to monitor the evolution of aptamer variants during a SELEX	​ High-throughput sequencing analysis of aptamer affinity-enhancing mutations
​ ​​ Clic on images to enlarge

Equipments

• Semi-automated platform for the selection of aptamers
• Molecular biology equipment for the production and purification of aptamers
• Biosafety level 2 cell culture rooms
• Hot Room dedicated to the manipulation of radioelements and affinity measurement (robot, LigandTracer)
• Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Illumina
• Workstation for bioinformatics analysis
• Near-infrared fluorescence imaging system equipped with two lasers (680 et 740nm) enabling quantitative imaging by diffuse optical tomography (fDOT) with a mm³ resolution
• Fibered confocal endo-microscopy system (pCLE) equipped with a laser 488nm for in vivo imaging of fluorescent probes with a resolution of just a few microns​