Patent ID: 7176295

Claim:
A blended nucleic acid ligand of a target compound prepared by a method comprising the steps of: a) identifying a nucleic acid ligand of a target compound from a candidate mixture comprised of nucleic acids each having a region of randomized sequence by a method comprising: i) contacting the candidate mixture with the target, wherein nucleic acids having an increased affinity to the target relative to the candidate mixture may be partitioned from the remainder of the candidate mixture; ii) partitioning the increased affinity nucleic acids from the remainder of the candidate mixture, and iii) amplifying the increased affinity nucleic acids to yield a ligand-enriched mixture of nucleic acids, whereby nucleic acid ligands of the target may be identified; and b) attaching at least one functional unit to said nucleic acid ligand to yield a blended nucleic acid ligand of the target compound, wherein the functional unit is selected from the group consisting of proteins, peptides, photoreactive groups, chemically-reactive groups, active site directed compounds, lipids, biotin, and fluorescent compounds.