in which a biological tag attached to each DNA strand is removed from any catalytically active strands via cleavage of a ribonucleotide base. This allows the catalytic strands to be separated by a column that specifically binds the tag, since the non-active strands will remain bound to the column while the active strands (which no longer possess the tag) flow through. A common set-up for this is a biotin tag with a streptavidin affinity column. Gel electrophoresis based separation can also be used in which the change in molecular weight of strands upon the cleavage reaction is enough to cause a shift in the location of the reactive strands on the gel. After the selection step, the reactive pool is amplified via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to regenerate and amplify the reactive strands, and the process is repeated until a pool of sufficient reactivity is obtained. Multiple rounds of selection are required because some non-catalytic strands will inevitably make it through any single selection step. Usually 4–10 rounds are required for unambiguous catalytic activity, though more rounds are often necessary for more stringent catalytic conditions. After a sufficient number of rounds, the final pool is sequenced and the individual strands are tested for their catalytic activity. The dynamics of the pool can be described through mathematical modeling , which shows how oligonucleotides undergo competitive binding with the targets and how the evolutionary outcome can be improved through fine tuning of parameters. Deoxyribozymes obtained through in vitro selection will be optimized for the conditions during the selection, such as salt concentration, pH, and the presence of cofactors. Because of this, catalytic activity only in the presence of specific cofactors or other conditions can be achieved using positive selection steps, as well as negative selection steps against other undesired conditions. in vitro evolution A similar method of obtaining new deoxyribozymes is through in vitro evolution. Though this term is often used interchangeably with in vitro selection, in vitro evolution more appropriately refers to a slightly different procedure in which the initial oligonucleotide pool is genetically altered over subsequent rounds through genetic recombination or through point mutations. For point mutations, the pool can be amplified using error-prone PCR to produce many different strands of various random, single mutations. As with in vitro selection, the evolved strands with increased activity will tend to dominate the pool after multiple selection steps, and once a sufficient