Aptamers as affinity ligands for downstream processing

Abstract

Aptamers are single‐stranded synthetic oligonucleotides that are able to capture their target molecule with high affinity and specificity. Therefore, they can be thought of as nucleic acid‐based alternative to antibodies, which have several advantages over their amino acid‐based counterparts. Consequently, aptamers can be used in different applications based on molecular recognition including affinity separations. This review will summarize the state‐of‐the‐art in aptamer‐based affinity separations; will discuss the current limitations and will highlight possible future prospects. The first part will point out the advantages of aptamers in downstream processing. Here, the properties of aptamers will be discussed along with their implications on downstream processing from a user's point of view. In the second part, a brief summary of the literature is given with focus on aptamer‐based separation of proteins. Finally, some drawbacks of aptamers will be illustrated and possibilities to overcome these limitations will be suggested. New technologies in the fields of aptamer selection and synthesis are expected to further promote the use of aptamers as affinity ligands in downstream processing.

Supramolecular Ligands for Histone Tails by Employing a Multivalent Display of Trisulfonated Calix[4]arenes

“…[7] There are several limitations, however,s uch as nuclease sensitivity,l ow membrane permeability,a nd limited scalability.T hese drawbacks, which are mainly consequences of the fact they are large biopolymers, sometimes hamper their use in ab iologicalc ontext. [8] The third class comprises synthetic organic molecules, especially supramolecular molecules, such as tetrasulfonated calix [4]arenes. [9] These are stable water-soluble organic compounds that are easily accessible through chemical synthesis on al arge scale.…”

Porous Silicon Biosensors Employing Emerging Capture Probes

“…Moreover, aptamers can be selected under non-physiological conditions in order to generate aptamers that are functional under desired conditions. Thus, in case of aptamers, a tailor-made bioreceptor can be designed and optimized to meet the requirements of specific applications [62,63].…”

Novel In Situ Magnetic Separator for Magnetic Particle‐Based Enzyme Purification or Biocatalysis

“…The use of adsorbent particles, which provide functional groups on the surface for affinity adsorption, increases yield and purity. The surface of the particles could be functionalized, e.g., with immobilized metal ions as in immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC), modified streptavidin or aptamers to bind the target molecule .…”