Aptamers: Successes, Limitations and Future Directions

Dear Colleagues,

Aptamers, generated by the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) process, are short, artificial, single-stranded oligonucleotides that, similarly to antibodies, interact at high affinity with their targets by recognizing a specific three-dimensional structure. They offer suitable features for analytical, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications, including easy manufacturing and great reproducibility from batch-to-batch, structural stability, and low/absent immunogenicity. Because of their nucleic acid nature, the rational design of advanced strategies to manipulate aptamers for wide-ranging applications is greatly simplified over antibodies.

This Special Issue will include original research articles and review articles on all aspects of aptamer research, including aptamer selection technology, engineering/modification strategies, analytical applications, imaging modalities, nanotechnology, diagnostics, and therapeutics. It aims to attract contributions highlighting problems, solutions, and future directions in the development of aptamers as molecular recognition elements from basic research toward diverse commercial applications.

Dr. Laura Cerchia
Guest Editor

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