SELEX: A tool to study the sequence specific molecular recognition of single stranded nucleic acids

Recently, understanding the sequence specific molecular recognition between nucleic acids and small molecules has been a topic of high interest, mainly due to the role of nucleic acids as drug targets. The development of systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment or SELEX has been a great tool to study the interactions between nucleic acids and small molecules. The research presented herein is aimed toward deciphering these molecular recognition behaviors of RNA and ssDNA. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the importance of the studies, SELEX and its use, and the structural basis of recognition. Chapter 2 details our findings of the comparisons and contrast of molecular recognition tendencies of ssDNA and RNA using aminoglycosides as our ligands. In chapter 3, we report tuning the specificity of a synthetic receptor using a selected aptamer. Finally, in chapter 4, our progress toward the development of amino acid - nucleic acid interaction database is detailed.