title: Preparation and characterization of aptamer-polyelectrolyte films and microcapsules for biosensing and delivery applications.
abstract: "Smart" materials are polymer systems that are able to change their physical or chemical properties in response to external stimuli in their environment. By adding a specific molecular recognition probe to a polymer, hybrid materials can be developed that retain the properties of the advanced polymer and gain the ability to respond to a specific molecular target. Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides that are well-suited to serve as molecular recognition probes due to the specificity and affinity of their target recognition as well as their stability and ease of synthesis and labeling. In particular, their negatively charged backbone makes for their facile incorporation into polyelectrolyte-based materials. This article will provide a brief review of the currently reported biosensor and delivery platforms that have been reported employing aptamer-polyelectrolyte materials, as well as a detailed description of the methods used to synthesize and study films and microcapsules containing small-molecule aptamer probes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mastronardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada.
authors.forename: Phepafatso K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Tsae
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada.
authors.forename: Xueru
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pach
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada.
authors.forename: Yasir
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sultan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada. Electronic address: maria.derosa@carleton.ca.
authors.forename: Maria C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: DeRosa
mesh_terms: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000737:chemistry*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000737:chemistry; D004339:Drug Compounding; D000071228:Polyelectrolytes / Q000737:chemistry; D052156:SELEX Aptamer Technique; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D000071228:Polyelectrolytes; D002119:Calcium Carbonate
keywords: Aptamer; Biosensing; Controlled delivery; Microcapsules; Polyelectrolyte multilayers; Thin films