Aptasensors for Biomarker Detection

Nucleic acid aptamers have attracted much interest in the bioanalytical field and have been employed to construct aptamer-based sensors (aptasensors) for the determination of multifarious disease biomarkers, attributing to their prominent advantages, such as good chemical and thermodynamic stability, ease of synthesis, utilization, and low cost. Along with acquisition of more and more effective aptamers, numerous aptasensors have been developed with many techniques, including UV-Vis (colorimetry), fluorescence, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, chemiluminescence/electrochemiluminescence, and electrochemical methods, and various types of biomarkers were detected, such as cardiac troponin I, carcinoembryonic antigen, and C-reactive protein, etc. Through overviewing these related typical works, this minireview aims to reveal effective approaches to high sensitivity, for example, DNA-based amplification and nanoprobe design, point out critical issues that impede the further practical use, and hopefully contribute to the development of aptasensors in the future.

Automated summary

Nucleic acid aptamers are important in the field of bioanalysis and can be used to construct aptasensors for detecting various disease biomarkers. These sensors have advantages such as good stability, easy synthesis, and low cost.