RIBOZYME LIBRARY, ITS PRODUCTION AND USE

摘要

The object of the invention is to allow the production of optimum ribozymes for any desired target sequence. It should be possible to effectively express and use in vivo these ribozymes, preferably to identify and neutralise genes for the treatment of diseases. The invention has applications in molecular biology, genetic engineering and medicine. For that purpose, a ribozyme library is constructed that contains 10<9>-10<11> ribozyme genes in an optimised expression cartridge. The ribozyme genes consist of a central Hammerhead structure having a defined sequence flanked by sequences with a random series of bases. The sequences located on both sides of the Hammerhead structure preferably contain 6-13 nucleotides. In order to use this ribozyme library, it is incubated with a material containing the desired target sequence, the thus obtained split products are identified and the ribozymes responsible for the splitting are isolated.