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The Development and Applications of Aptamers

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 1636

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, Università di Salerno, Salerno, Italy
Interests: biochemistry; protein structure and function; bioinformatics; protein modelling; molecular docking; molecular dynamics simulations; rare diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Interests: molecular interaction; bioinformatics; molecular simulations; biochemistry; clinical biochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aptamers are short single-stranded RNA or DNA oligonucleotides that are capable of folding into complex 3D structures, allowing them to bind targets ranging from small ions to an entire organism. Their high specificity and binding affinity make them comparable to antibodies, but aptamers have a longer shelf life and lower toxicity and immunogenicity.

Aptamers have proven to be a promising alternative to antibodies for use in biomedical areas such as biomarker detection, diagnosis, imaging and therapy. Despite their therapeutic potential in some preclinical models, aptamers are not yet considered 'stars' in clinical trials, and one reason for this is selection difficulty.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to present papers that deal with either the discovery of new aptamers or the selection and application of aptamers in clinics for different pathologies. We welcome purely bioinformatics-based approaches (e.g., aptamer selection using molecular dynamics, the patterning of libraries, and in silico aptamer optimization), studies based on “wet” approaches, and combinations of both.

Prof. Dr. Angelo Facchiano
Dr. Anna Marabotti
Dr. Bernardina Scafuri
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • aptamers
  • therapeutics
  • diagnosis
  • molecular interaction

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 3457 KiB  
Article
Sensitive Silver-Enhanced Microplate Apta-Enzyme Assay of Sb3+ Ions in Drinking and Natural Waters
by Nadezhda S. Komova, Kseniya V. Serebrennikova, Anna N. Berlina, Anatoly V. Zherdev and Boris B. Dzantiev
Molecules 2023, 28(19), 6973; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28196973 - 7 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1171
Abstract
The toxic effects of antimony pose risks to human health. Therefore, simple analytical techniques for its widescale monitoring in water sources are in demand. In this study, a sensitive microplate apta-enzyme assay for Sb3+ detection was developed. The biotinylated aptamer A10 [...] Read more.
The toxic effects of antimony pose risks to human health. Therefore, simple analytical techniques for its widescale monitoring in water sources are in demand. In this study, a sensitive microplate apta-enzyme assay for Sb3+ detection was developed. The biotinylated aptamer A10 was hybridized with its complementary biotinylated oligonucleotide T10 and then immobilized on the surface of polysterene microplate wells. Streptavidin labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) bound to the biotin of a complementary complex and transformed the 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine substrate, generating an optical signal. Sb3+ presenting in the sample bounded to an A10 aptamer, thus releasing T10, preventing streptavidin-HRP binding and, as a result, reducing the optical signal. This effect allowed for the detection of Sb3+ with a working range from 0.09 to 2.3 µg/mL and detection limit of 42 ng/mL. It was established that the presence of Ag+ at the stage of A10/T10 complex formation promoted dehybridization of the aptamer A10 and the formation of the A10/Sb3+ complex. The working range of the Ag+-enhanced microplate apta-enzyme assay for Sb3+ was determined to be 8–135 ng/mL, with a detection limit of 1.9 ng/mL. The proposed enhanced approach demonstrated excellent selectivity against other cations/anions, and its practical applicability was confirmed through an analysis of drinking and spring water samples with recoveries of Sb3+ in the range of 109.0–126.2% and 99.6–106.1%, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Development and Applications of Aptamers)
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