Correct diagnosis and successful therapy are extremely important to enjoy a healthy life when suffering from a disease. To achieve these aims, various cutting-edge technologies have been designed and fabricated to diagnose and treat specific diseases. Among these technologies, aptamer–nanomaterial hybrids have received considerable attention from scientists and doctors because they have numerous advantages over other methods, such as good biocompatibility, low immunogenicity and controllable selectivity. In particular, aptamers, oligonucleic acids or peptides that bind to a specific target molecule, are regarded as outstanding biomolecules. In this review, several screening techniques for aptamers, also called systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) methods, are introduced, and diagnostic and therapeutic aptamer applications are also presented. Furthermore, we describe diverse aptamer–nanomaterial conjugate designs and their applications for diagnosis and therapy.
Diagnosis ; Mass Screening ; Peptides ; SELEX Aptamer Technique

Targeting of complex system such as human cells rather than biochemically pure molecules will be a useful approach to massively identify ligands specific for the markers associated with human disease such as cancer and simultaneously discover the specific molecular markers. In this study, we developed in vitro selection method to identify nuclease-resistant nucleic acid ligands called RNA aptamers that are specific for human cancer cells. This method is based on the combination of the cell-based selection and subtractive systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) method. These aptamers will be useful for cancer-specific ligands for proteomic research to identify cancer-specific molecular markers as well as tumor diagnosis and therapy.
Aptamers, Nucleotide ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Ligands* ; Proteomics ; SELEX Aptamer Technique

SELEX technology (Systematic Evolution of Ligand by Exponential Enrichment) is a new in vitro screening technology appeared and developed in the past 20 years. SELEX integrate library technology and screening techniques, screening a nucleic acid molecule from nucleic acid library by ligand-aptamer interaction. Similar to the antibodies, aptamers bind with the specific target substance. SELEX screening technology develops rapidly, and aptamer have been widely applied in biomedical field. This article briefly-overviewed the progress and its applications of SELEX technology in recent years.
Animals ; Gene Library ; Humans ; Oligonucleotides ; genetics ; SELEX Aptamer Technique ; methods

The computer information technology that has penetrated into every aspect of our lives, can not only assist the screening of drugs, but also simulate the effect of drugs. At present, computer-aided technologies have been used to screen aptamers, which play an important role in improving the screening efficiency and screening high affinity binding aptamers. This review summarized the screening methods of aptamers through computer-aided sequence evaluation, structural analysis and molecular docking.
Aptamers, Nucleotide ; Computers ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; SELEX Aptamer Technique/methods*

Aptamers are a group of artificial oligonucleotides identified by exponential enrichment system evolution technology (Selective expansion of ligands by exponential enrichment, SELEX). Aptamers have been widely used in basic research, clinical diagnostics, and nano-technology. In this article we will introduce the technology of aptamer and summarize its applications in medical microbiology.
Aptamers, Nucleotide ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Microbiological Techniques ; methods ; Microbiology ; SELEX Aptamer Technique ; methods ; trends

Molecular imaging technology, an advanced research area of imaging, can provide real-time, non-invasive image information of the target site in molecular level. The key of the molecular imaging technology is molecular probe. Aptamers are short oligonucleotides with high affinity and specificity to the target molecules. The targeting ability, stability and safety of aptamers are superior to traditional antibodies so that aptamers show prosperous usages in targeting drug delivery and disease diagnostics. Therefore, aptamers are considered to be an extremely ideal probes, which can guide quantum dots, magnetic nanoparticles and ultrasound contrast agents on the targets and realize optical, magnetic resonance, ultrasonic multimodal and multifunctional imaging. All of the advantages can further promote the application of molecular imaging in disease treatment and diagnosis. In this paper, we review recent developments in the application of aptamers as molecular probes in major branches of molecular imaging.
Animals ; Aptamers, Nucleotide ; Contrast Media ; Humans ; Molecular Imaging ; methods ; trends ; Molecular Probes ; SELEX Aptamer Technique

Aptamers are oligo-nucleotides which are selected by SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) in vitro, it can bind protein or other small molecules with high specificity and affinity. Researches on aptamers have achieved much progress in biosensor, drug development and nano technology. This article has reviewed the researches and applications of aptamers in the past two years.
Animals ; Aptamers, Nucleotide ; isolation & purification ; Biosensing Techniques ; methods ; Drug Design ; Humans ; Nanotechnology ; methods ; SELEX Aptamer Technique

Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA which are isolated from synthesized random oligonucleotide library in vitro via systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) and can bind to metal ions, small molecules, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and others targets with high affinity and specificity. Aptamers have the advantages of simple preparation, good thermal stability, and low immunogenicity and have great potential in the medical fields such as molecular imaging, biosensing, early diagnosis of diseases, and targeted therapy. Aptamer technology may be useful for early diagnosis and targeted therapy of pediatric cancer, and may avoid the side effects of conventional chemotherapy, such as growth and development disorders and long-term organ dysfunction. This article reviews the latest research advances in the selection and application of aptamers for pediatric cancer.
Child ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Humans ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; SELEX Aptamer Technique ; methods

The development of the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) process has made it possible to isolate oligonucleotide sequences with the capacity of recognizing virtually any class of target molecules with high affinity and specificity. These oligonucleotide sequences, referred to as "aptamers", are useful as a class of molecules that rival antibodies in diagnostic applications. Aptamers are different from antibodies, yet they mimic properties of antibodies in a variety of diagnostic formats. To meet the shortcomings of antibodies, aptamers have the following advantages. Aptamer does not depend on animals, cells, or even in vivo conditions and produced by chemical synthesis with extreme accuracy and reproducibility. Once denatured, functional aptamers could be regenerated easily within minutes. They are stable to long-term storage and can be transported at ambient temperature. We describe here an enzyme -linked oligonucleotide assay that use a SELEX-derived RNA aptamer to detect hTNFalpha. In order to protect from nuclease attack, the RNA aptamer was modified by replacement of 2'-NH2 for 2'-OH at all ribo-purines. In a sandwich micro-plate assay, hTNFalpha monoclonal antibody was coated on the surface of the plate, biotin-labeled RNA aptamer was used as a detect molecle. HTNFalpha was diluted by pooled human serum as standard, and streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase-substrate system was added for detection. Accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity of ELONA method were analyzed. The levels of hTNF-alpha in normal human serum samples were assayed by the ELONA and the ELISA processes. The resultes demonstrate that a sandwich assay using a SELEX-derived RNA aptamer has parameters for accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity well within the limits expected of a typical enzyme-linked assay. There is no significant difference between the results of ELONA and ELISA. The minimum detection level was 100 pg/mL. This method will be useful for detection of almost all the cytokines and other protein molecules.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; SELEX Aptamer Technique ; methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; analysis ; immunology

Aptamers are oligonucleotides derived from an in vitro evolution process called SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment). Aptamers specially binding to targets could recognize and inhibit the function of targets. Using this method, many powerful antagonists of cytokines have been found. In order for these antagonists to work in animal models of disease and in humans, it is necessary to modify the aptamers. First of all, 2'-F, 2'-NH2 and 2'-CH3O modifications of nucleoside triphosphates could prolong half-lives in blood. Aptamers can be kept in the circulation from hours to days by conjugating them to higher molecular weight vehicles. After modified, conjugated aptamers are injected into animals, they inhibit physiological functions known to be associated with their target cytokines. Exhibiting binding characteristics comparable to or even better than monoclonal antibodies, these ligands can be used as detection probes, highly efficient inhibitors of protein function or specific competitors in high-throughput screening (HTS) assays. Recently several aptamers of cytokines have been characterized. Some of them have been used as diagnostic agent for the detection of target cytokines. The first aptamer that has proceeded to phase II clinical studies is NX-1838, an injectable angiogenesis inhibitor that can be potentially used to treat macular degeneration-induced blindness. Aptamers will be versatile tools that can greatly enhance the efficiency of modern diagnose and therapy development.
Cytokines ; antagonists & inhibitors ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; Humans ; Oligonucleotides ; therapeutic use ; SELEX Aptamer Technique ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; antagonists & inhibitors