Aptamer-Based Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring

Abstract

Due to their relative synthetic and chemical simplicity compared to antibodies, aptamers afford enhanced stability and functionality for the detection of environmental contaminants and for use in environmental monitoring. Furthermore, nucleic acid aptamers can be selected for toxic targets which may prove difficult for antibody development. Of particular relevance, aptamers have been selected and used to develop biosensors for environmental contaminants such as heavy metals, small-molecule agricultural toxins, and water-borne bacterial pathogens. This review will focus on recent aptamer-based developments for the detection of diverse environmental contaminants. Within this domain, aptamers have been combined with other technologies to develop biosensors with various signal outputs. The goal of much of this work is to develop cost-effective, user-friendly detection methods that can complement or replace traditional environmental monitoring strategies. This review will highlight recent examples in this area. Additionally, with innovative developments such as wearable devices, sentinel materials, and lab-on-a-chip designs, there exists significant potential for the development of multifunctional aptamer-based biosensors for environmental monitoring. Examples of these technologies will also be highlighted. Finally, a critical perspective on the field, and thoughts on future research directions will be offered.

Label‐Free Colorimetric Biosensors Based on Aptamers and Gold Nanoparticles: A Critical Review

“…DNA aptamers are also single‐stranded and can selectively bind to a diverse range of analytes to form rigid binding complexes [29–31] . Simple and sensitive detection of aptamer binding is desirable [32–35] . Since aptamer binding can fold DNA and hide the bases, [29] the adsorption of aptamer/target complexes to AuNPs is also expected to be slow.…”

“…[29][30][31] Simple and sensitive detection of aptamer binding is desirable. [32][33][34][35] Since aptamer binding can fold DNA and hide the bases, [29] the adsorption of aptamer/target complexes to AuNPs is also expected to be slow. Measuring aptamer binding is a challenging task, especially for small molecular targets.…”

Current and future advances in fluorescence-based visualization of plant cell wall components and cell wall biosynthetic machineries

“…8 ), all the way from ions to whole cells [ 235 ]. After an initial rush to use aptamers for medical technology went largely unrealized, their development continued in the field of biosenors, where aptamers towards small-molecule toxins and pathogenic bacteria have been found to be inexpensive testing reagents for water and food quality [ 236 ].…”

Aptamers for Proteins Associated with Rheumatic Diseases: Progress, Challenges, and Prospects of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications

“…Aptamer-based biosensors, also referred to as aptasensors, are analytical devices consisting of a biorecognition element (aptamer) and a transducer that provides a quantitative or semi-quantitative analytical signal upon analyte binding. As we mentioned above, a huge variety of aptasensing platforms have been developed to the moment for the detection of analytes related to food safety [ 35 , 36 ], environmental studies [ 37 , 38 , 39 ], and clinical diagnostics [ 19 , 40 , 41 ]. Most of them rely on optical (colorimetrical, fluorescent, luminescent, or surface plasmon resonance (SPR)) [ 9 , 10 , 39 ] and electrochemical (current, conductance, potential, and impedance) [ 42 , 43 ] types of the analytical signal.…”