The application of aptamers in receptor- and molecule-based biosensors

Abstract

Aptamer is an oligonucleotide sequence that can bind to a specific target molecule, which is screened from a random oligonucleotide library. It has shown promising prospects in biomedical applications. Due to its decisive advantages such as simple preparation, easy modification, good stability and wide range of targets compared with traditional antibodies, aptamer has been widely applied in the development of biosensors, which can not only be used to realize the identification and detection of target molecules, but also be utilized as the bridge between sensitive elements and transducers to improve the coupling efficiency. In addition, in recent years, the introduction of various nanomaterials such as metal nanoparticles, carbon materials and functional nanospheres to aptamer-based biosensors has contributed to their improvement in analytical performances and commercial applications. First, this review briefly introduces the methods for aptamer screening based on the SELEX technique and summarizes basic properties of aptamers. Second, the basic principle and classification of aptamer-based biosensors are introduced in detail. Third, based on the most recent progress in the field of aptamer-based biosensors, we focus on the applications of aptamers in biosensor development, including the applications in the field of biomimetic olfactory and taste receptor biosensors as well as applications in the detection of small molecules and proteins. Finally, we analyze and discuss the problems and development trends of applications of aptamers in biosensors.