title: Nucleic acid aptamers: research tools in disease diagnostics and therapeutics.
abstract: Aptamers are short sequences of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) or peptide molecules which adopt a conformation and bind cognate ligands with high affinity and specificity in a manner akin to antibody-antigen interactions. It has been globally acknowledged that aptamers promise a plethora of diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Although use of nucleic acid aptamers as targeted therapeutics or mediators of targeted drug delivery is a relatively new avenue of research, one aptamer-based drug "Macugen" is FDA approved and a series of aptamer-based drugs are in clinical pipelines. The present review discusses the aspects of design, unique properties, applications, and development of different aptamers to aid in cancer diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment under defined conditions.
authors: Applied Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
authors: Baby
authors: 0000-0001-5110-2697
authors: B
authors: Santosh
authors: Applied Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
authors: Pramod K
authors: PK
authors: Yadava
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D035843:Biomedical Research; D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; D004194:Disease; D006801:Humans; D052156:SELEX Aptamer Technique
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide