Trends in the Design and Development of Specific Aptamers Against Peptides and Proteins

Abstract

Aptamers are single stranded oligonucleotides, comparable to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in selectivity and affinity and have significant strategic properties in design, development and applications more than mAbs. Ease of design and development, simple chemical modification and the attachment of functional groups, easily handling and more adaptability with analytical methods, small size and adaptation with nanostructures are the valuable characteristics of aptamers in comparison to large protein based ligands. Among a broad range of targets that their specific aptamers developed, proteins and peptides have significant position according to the number of related studies performed so far. Since proteins control many of important physiological and pathological incidents in the living organisms, particularly human beings and because of the benefits of aptamers in clinical and analytical applications, aptamer related technologies in the field of proteins and peptides are under progress, exclusively. Currently, there is only one FDA approved therapeutic aptamer in the pharmaceutical market, which is specific to vascular endothelial growth factor and is prescribed for age related macular degenerative disease. Additionally, there are several aptamers in the different phases of clinical trials. Almost all of these aptamers are specific to clinically important peptide or protein targets. In addition, the application of protein specific aptamers in the design and development of targeted drug delivery systems and diagnostic biosensors is another interesting field of aptamer technology. In this review, significant efforts related to development and applications of aptamer technologies in proteins and peptides sciences were considered to emphasis on the importance of aptamers in medicinal and clinical applications.

DNAzyme–aptamer or aptamer–DNAzyme paradigm: Biochemical approach for aflatoxin analysis

“…Owing to their small size, appropriate affinity, and selectivity, they have great capacity in targeting, identification, and measurement for developing of biosensors . In comparison with enzymes and antibodies, DNAzymes and aptamers have remarkable advantages . Oligonucleotides can be synthesized quickly and easily on a large scale and their production cost is fewer than proteins .…”

Breaking Barriers: Bioinspired Strategies for Targeted Neuronal Delivery to the Central Nervous System

“…Aptamers are single stranded oligonucleotide sequences with a stable, defined and easily adapted three-dimensional configuration [171,172]. Similar to antibodies, aptamers have a specific binding capability to in vivo and ex vivo ligands and have attracted attention in the past few years for targeted drug delivery approaches [171][172][173][174][175]. Currently, many developed aptamers can interact with various targets, from simple inorganic molecules to large protein complexes, and even entire cells [176].…”

Unraveling Prion Protein Interactions with Aptamers and Other PrP-Binding Nucleic Acids

“…Single-stranded NAs can fold into a variety of loops, stems, hairpins, quadruplexes, and bugles, among other shapes, to generate a vast range of secondary and tertiary NAs structures [52]. A well-defined three-dimensional structure of these oligonucleotides can specifically recognize and interact with several target molecules, including amino acids [55,56], proteins [57], antibodies [58], or even whole cells [59]. The interaction affinity occurs in the nanomolar to femtomolar range and is established by various intermolecular forces such as hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, and base stacking.…”