title: Nucleic acid aptamers for biosensors and bio-analytical applications.
abstract: Oligonucleotides were once considered only functional as molecules for the storage of genetic information. However, the discovery of RNAzymes, and later, DNAzymes, unravelled the innate potential of oligonucleotides in many other biological applications. In the last two decades, these applications have been further expanded through the introduction of Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX) which has generated, by repeated rounds of in vitro selection, a type of molecular probe termed aptamers. Aptamers are oligonucleic acid (or peptide) molecules that can bind to various molecular targets and are viewed as complements to antibodies. Aptamers have found applications in many areas, such as bio-technology, medicine, pharmacology, microbiology, and analytical chemistry, including chromatographic separation and biosensors. In this review, we focus on the use of aptamers in the development of biosensors. Coupled with their ability to bind a variety of targets, the robust nature of oligonucleotides, in terms of synthesis, storage, and wide range of temperature stability and chemical manipulation, makes them highly suitable for biosensor design and engineering. Among the many design strategies, we discuss three general paradigms that have appeared most frequently in the literature: structure-switching, enzyme-based, and aptazyme-based designs.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research at Bio/nano Interface, Department of Chemistry, Shands Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7200, USA.
authors.forename: Kwame
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sefah
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Xiangling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Dimitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Van Simaeys
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Weihong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077214:Becaplermin; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000737:chemistry; D015195:Drug Design; D054802:Molecular Imprinting; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D020574:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis; D052156:SELEX Aptamer Technique / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; D020574:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis; D000077214:Becaplermin; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase