Abstract
Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules that can be identified through an iterative in vitro selection–amplification process. Among them, fluorogenic aptamers in response to small molecules have been of great interest in biosensing and bioimaging due to their rapid fluorescence turn-on signals with high target specificity and low background noise. In this review, we report recent advances in fluorogenic aptasensors and their applications to in vitro diagnosis and cellular imaging. These aptasensors modulated by small molecules have been implemented in different modalities that include duplex or molecular beacon-type aptasensors, aptazymes, and fluorogen-activating aptamer reporters. We highlight the working principles, target molecules, modifications, and performance characteristics of fluorogenic aptasensors, and discuss their potential roles in the field of biosensor and bioimaging with future directions and challenges.
Highlights
IntroductionAptamer-based biosensors (aptasensors) have made significant progress in multidisciplinary fields because aptamers, single-stranded (ss) DNA or RNA molecules, have been used as bioreceptors because of their excellent abilities, including easy modification, reproducible synthesis, small size, and high thermal stability compared to antibodies [1]
Aptamer-based biosensors have made significant progress in multidisciplinary fields because aptamers, single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules, have been used as bioreceptors because of their excellent abilities, including easy modification, reproducible synthesis, small size, and high thermal stability compared to antibodies [1].Concurrently, their structural diversity and target-dependent conformational changes have given rise to various biosensing platforms, such as optical [2,3,4], electrochemical [5,6], and mass-based detection [7] in a label-free or label-based manner
Unlike fluorescent aptasensors that rely on dye-labeled aptamers as affinity tags for targets [9,10,11], fluorogenic aptasensors lead to higher signal-to-background ratios because non-fluorescent aptasensors under normal conditions can emit a bright FL signal only when recognizing target molecules [12,13]
Summary
Aptamer-based biosensors (aptasensors) have made significant progress in multidisciplinary fields because aptamers, single-stranded (ss) DNA or RNA molecules, have been used as bioreceptors because of their excellent abilities, including easy modification, reproducible synthesis, small size, and high thermal stability compared to antibodies [1] Their structural diversity and target-dependent conformational changes have given rise to various biosensing platforms, such as optical [2,3,4], electrochemical [5,6], and mass-based detection [7] in a label-free or label-based manner. In addition to an elaborative description of the diverse functions and wide applications of fluorogenic aptamers in biosensing and bioimaging, we discuss the current limitations and future aspects to promote the development of fluorogenic aptasensors
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