%0 Journal Article
%T In Vitro Selection of Single-Stranded DNA Molecular Recognition Elements against S. aureus Alpha Toxin and Sensitive Detection in Human Serum
%A Ka L. Hong
%A Luisa Battistella
%A Alysia D. Salva
%A Ryan M. Williams
%A Letha J. Sooter
%J International Journal of Molecular Sciences
%P 2794-2809
%D 2015
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/ijms16022794
%X Alpha toxin is one of the major virulence factors secreted by Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that is responsible for a wide variety of infections in both community and hospital settings. Due to the prevalence of S. aureus related infections and the emergence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus, rapid and accurate diagnosis of S. aureus infections is crucial in benefiting patient health outcomes. In this study, a rigorous Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) variant previously developed by our laboratory was utilized to select a single-stranded DNA molecular recognition element (MRE) targeting alpha toxin with high affinity and specificity. At the end of the 12-round selection, the selected MRE had an equilibrium dissociation constant ( K d) of 93.7 ¡À 7.0 nM. Additionally, a modified sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed by using the selected ssDNA MRE as the toxin-capturing element and a sensitive detection of 200 nM alpha toxin in undiluted human serum samples was achieved.
%K SELEX
%K in vitro selection
%K aptamer
%K ssDNA
%K molecular recognition element (MRE)
%K alpha toxin
%K Staphylococcus aureus
%K ELISA
%U http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/16/2/2794