Abstract
Based on their unique advantages, increasing interest has been shown in the use of aptamers as target ligands for specific cancer cell recognition and targeted cancer therapy. Recently, the development of aptamer-conjugated nanomaterials has offered new therapeutic opportunities for cancer treatment with better efficacy and lower toxicity. We highlight some of the promising classes of aptamer-conjugated nanomaterials for the specific recognition of cancer cells and targeted cancer therapy. Recent developments in the use of novel strategies that enable sensitive and selective cancer cell recognition are introduced. In addition to targeted drug delivery for chemotherapy, we also review how aptamer-conjugated nanomaterials are being incorporated into emerging technologies with significant improvement in efficiency and selectivity in cancer treatment.
Highlights
Despite advances in our understanding of molecular biology, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and conventional surgical procedures, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in the world.[1]
Active targeting is achieved by conjugating nanomaterials with targeting ligands that bind to overexpressed antigens or receptors on the target cells
Significant cell death occurs upon light irradiation by simultaneous photodynamic and photothermal effects. This gold nanorod-aptamer-Ce6 conjugate offers a remarkably improved and synergistic therapeutic effect compared with photothermal therapy (PTT) or photodynamic therapy (PDT) alone, providing high specificity and therapeutic efficiency, which can be generalized to other types of cancer therapies
Summary
Despite advances in our understanding of molecular biology, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and conventional surgical procedures, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in the world.[1]. Methods that enable sensitive and selective cancer cell detection through precise molecular recognition are highly desired for the development of targeted cancer therapy and the potential efficacy of new therapeutic modalities.
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