Automated selection of anti-protein aptamers

The in vitro selection of nucleic acid binding species (aptamers) is frequently repetitive, time-consuming, and poorly adapted to high-throughput applications. We have adapted automated workstations to select anti-protein aptamers; as an example, we demonstrated the selection of anti-lysozyme aptamers that function as efficient inhibitors of cell lysis. The increases in throughput brought about by automation should potentiate the application of aptamer technology to the rapidly growing field of proteomics.