A team of researchers led by Teresa Przytycka, PhD, a National Institutes of Health investigator, has developed new technological tool that can identify binding molecules with the highest precision.

The software, called AptaTRACE, is able to identify molecules that bind to a target with high precision. Meant to be paired with High-Throughput Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (HT-SELEX), the technology is able to analyze millions of molecules and identity the ones capable of binding to a target. The AptaTRACE then analyzes the date to pin-point binding molecules.

“This research is an excellent example of how the benefits of ‘big data’ critically depend upon the existence of algorithms that are capable of transforming such data into information,” said Przytycka, a senior investigator at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), a division of the NIH’s National Library of Medicine.

This technology combination is the newest way to identify and study why only certain molecules are able to bind and in the future researchers hope to use this process in the development of drug delivery systems that target specific cells.