Laminin is a large, 900 kDa, structural protein present in basement membranes. Laminim plays a key role in cell attachment, cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and cell motility. Laminin has been used as a coating for extracellular matrices and a cell culture supplement to improve cellular attachment and / or retain cellular differentiation. [Mats Paulsson. (1992) The role of laminin in attachment, growth, and differentiation of cultured cells: a brief review. Cytotechnology. 9:99-106.]
The 40 nucleotide DNA aptamer was selected by scientists at Base Pair Biotechnologies using proprietary methods and laminin from Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm murine sarcoma basement membrane; Sigma #L2020.