The present disclosure is drawn to creating cassette designs for nucleic acid-guided nuclease editing. In designing editing cassettes, a set of edit specifications must first be obtained. These edit specifications are taken together with a set of configuration parameters to start a computational pipeline that generates a collection of cassette designs. The process of designing editing cassettes involves the following exemplary steps: 1) creation of a set of candidate cassette designs for each unique edit specification, 2) enumeration of features describing biophysical characteristics of each candidate design, 3) providing each candidate design with a score, and 4) returning a number of scored and rank-ordered candidate cassette designs for each edit specification.

Point-of-care assays for quantitatively measuring the amount of small analytes, such as opioids, tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”), or hormones, in a biological sample are disclosed. The assays are capable of non-competitive detection of a small analyte using binding agents that selectively bind the analyte and capture agents that selectively bind a complex of the binding agent and analyte but do not bind either free binding agent or free analyte. The assay is capable of simultaneous diction of multiple analytes for multiplex analysis and quantitative control. Quantitative measurements are obtained by plotting results against a response surface calculated from a plurality of analyte standards and adjusted using internal controls.

Methods and compositions for detecting tau pathology are described. The compositions for detecting tau pathology comprise a targeting ligand that specifically binds to a cell surface marker of tau pathology, wherein the targeting ligand is linked to a liposome that includes an imaging agent. The compositions can be used in a method for imaging tau pathology in a subject that comprises administering to the subject an effective amount of the composition to a subject and imaging at least a portion of the subject to determine if that portion of the subject exhibits tau pathology. The compositions can also be used to detect tau pathology in biological samples obtained from a subject.

The use of aptamers for the detection of fibrin and/or blood clots and methods to produce such aptamers.

The present disclosure describes improved SELEX methods for producing aptamers that are capable of binding to target molecules and improved photoSELEX methods for producing photoreactive aptamers that are capable of both binding and covalently crosslinking to target molecules. Specifically, the present disclosure describes methods for producing aptamers and photoaptamers having slower dissociation rate constants than are obtained using prior SELEX and photoSELEX methods. The disclosure further describes aptamers and photoaptamers having slower dissociation rate constants than those obtained using prior methods. In addition, the disclosure describes aptamer constructs that include a variety of functionalities, including a cleavable element, a detection element, and a capture or immobilization element.

The invention relates to a new method for obtaining aptamers directed against protein targets comprising a histidine-containing surface domain, and aptamers obtaining by said method.

The present invention relates inter alia to aptamers that specifically bind to Imatinib and methods of using the same.

Provided herein, among other things, is an automatable procedure that employs in vitro directed evolution to create DNA sequences that encode a ligand-responsive ribozyme and which, when transcribed, can control expression of genes they are coupled to. The method also allows creation of functional RNA sequences that bind target molecules, without requiring any modification or immobilization of the target.

The present disclosure describes compositions and methods for selection functional aptamers. In certain embodiments, provided herein are methods of using aptamer cluster-containing particles to identify functional aptamers from an aptamer library. In certain embodiments, provided herein are functionally enriched populations of aptamers. In certain embodiments, provided herein are methods for selecting an aptamer for use in personalized cancer treatment and methods for preparing a tumor delivery system. In certain embodiments, provide herein are compositions comprise the aptamer cluster-containing particles, target cells (e.g., cancer cells, immune cells, etc.) and/or a detectable indicator of cellular function (e.g., a fluorescent indicator of apoptosis, cell proliferation, gene or protein expression, etc.).

Disclosed is a method of sequencing a nucleic acid containing an unnatural base pair (UBP), comprising performing two or more replacement replication reactions wherein the nucleic acid is replicated using two or more intermediate of the unnatural base pair; sequencing the nucleic acid resulting from the replacement replication reactions; clustering the sequenced nucleic acid and identifying a candidate position of the unnatural base pair; determining a ratio of conversion of the intermediate to each one of a natural base pair at the candidate position of the unnatural base pair; comparing the ratio of conversion of the intermediate to a library of pre-determined conversion rate based on the sequences of one or more natural base pair adjacent to the candidate position of the unnatural base pair; wherein a substantial match of the ratio of conversion of the intermediate to a value in the library of the pre-determined conversion rate confirms the position of the unnatural base pair, thereby determining the sequence of the nucleic acid containing the unnatural base pair. Also disclosed is an apparatus for performing the method as disclosed herein.