Chang Yun Min, Donovan Michael J, Tan Weihong
Center for Research at Bio/Nano Interface, Department of Chemistry and Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, Shands Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
J Nucleic Acids. 2013;2013:817350. doi: 10.1155/2013/817350. Epub 2013 Jan 15.
Aptamers are single-stranded synthetic DNA- or RNA-based oligonucleotides that fold into various shapes to bind to a specific target, which includes proteins, metals, and molecules. Aptamers have high affinity and high specificity that are comparable to that of antibodies. They are obtained using iterative method, called (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment) SELEX and cell-based SELEX (cell-SELEX). Aptamers can be paired with recent advances in nanotechnology, microarray, microfluidics, and other technologies for applications in clinical medicine. One particular area that aptamers can shed a light on is biomarker discovery. Biomarkers are important in diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In this paper, we will describe ways in which aptamers can be used to discover biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and therapeutics.
适体是基于单链合成DNA或RNA的寡核苷酸，它们折叠成各种形状以结合特定靶标，包括蛋白质、金属和分子。适体具有与抗体相当的高亲和力和高特异性。它们通过称为指数富集配体系统进化（SELEX）和基于细胞的SELEX（细胞SELEX）的迭代方法获得。适体可以与纳米技术、微阵列、微流体和其他技术的最新进展相结合，用于临床医学应用。适体能够阐明的一个特定领域是生物标志物的发现。生物标志物在癌症的诊断和治疗中很重要。在本文中，我们将描述适体可用于发现癌症诊断和治疗生物标志物的方法。
