Bioinspired molecular engineering of bivalent aptamers by ligand-induced self-dimerization

A bioinspired point-and-shoot molecular strategy is described for engineering noncovalent aptamers via K+-induced reassembly of a split G-quadruplex sequence at the end of monomeric aptamers. This design compensates for insufficient cell recognition of monovalent aptamers in biological environments and minimizes structure-induced nonspecific cell binding, expending the aptamer toolbox available for complex systems.

Automated summary

A bioinspired strategy is presented for engineering noncovalent aptamers by inducing reassembly of a split G-quadruplex sequence at the end of monomeric aptamers using K+. This design addresses the issue of insufficient cell recognition of monovalent aptamers in biological environments and reduces nonspecific cell binding caused by the structure, thereby expanding the aptamer toolbox for complex systems.