title: Aptamer binding assays for proteins: the thrombin example--a review.
abstract: Experimentally selected single-stranded DNA and RNA aptamers are able to bind to specific target molecules with high affinity and specificity. Many analytical methods make use of affinity binding between the specific targets and their aptamers. In the development of these methods, thrombin is the most frequently used target molecule to demonstrate the proof-of-principle. This paper critically reviews more than one hundred assays that are based on aptamer binding to thrombin. This review focuses on homogeneous binding assays, electrochemical aptasensors, and affinity separation techniques. The emphasis of this review is placed on understanding the principles and unique features of the assays. The principles of most assays for thrombin are applicable to the determination of other molecular targets.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G3, Canada.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G2, Canada.
authors.forename: Yanwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G3, Canada.
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G3, Canada.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G3, Canada.
authors.forename: Zhixin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G3, Canada.
authors.forename: Hongquan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G3, Canada.
authors.forename: Xing-Fang
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G3, Canada; Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G2, Canada. Electronic address: xc.le@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: X Chris
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Le
mesh_terms: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000737:chemistry*; D005591:Chemical Fractionation / Q000379:methods*; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D011485:Protein Binding; D013917:Thrombin / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D013917:Thrombin
keywords: Affinity separation; Aptamers; Binding-induced DNA assembly; Catalytic amplification; Homogeneous binding assays; Thrombin