Aptamers as the Agent in Decontamination Assays (Apta-Decontamination Assays): From the Environment to the Potential Application In Vivo

Abstract

The binding specificity and affinity of aptamers have long been harnessed as the key elements in the development of aptamer-based assays, particularly aptasensing application. One promising avenue that is currently explored based on the specificity and affinity of aptamers is the application of aptamers in the decontamination assays. Aptamers have been successfully harnessed as the decontamination agents to remove contaminants from the environment and to decontaminate infectious elements. The reversible denaturation property inherent in aptamers enables the repeated usage of aptamers, which can immensely save the cost of decontamination. Analogous to the point-of-care diagnostics, there is no doubt that aptamers can also be deployed in the point-of-care aptamer-based decontamination assay, whereby decontamination can be performed anywhere and anytime for instantaneous decision-making. It is also prophesied that aptamers can also serve more than as a decontaminant, probably as a tool to capture and kill hazardous elements, particularly pathogenic agents.

Structural and functional characterization of Rv0792c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis: identifying small molecule inhibitors against GntR protein

“…Notably, the presence of EDTA also abrogated the aptamer binding to Rv0792c indicating that Mg 2+ is essential to maintain the active conformation of aptamers required for protein binding. This finding is in agreement with the previous reports where the role of divalent ion in aptamer binding to cognate protein target has already been established (69). Interestingly, all these aptamer candidates displayed Kd in the nanomolar range, an observation which is in concordance with the previously reported protein binding aptamers (29,70,71).…”

Graphene Oxide Membrane Immobilized Aptamer as a Highly Selective Hormone Removal

“…Aptamers are ssDNA that can be used as a recognition probe for specific water decontamination [ 36 ]. ssDNA affinity binding on rGO/PEI membrane was verified by the fluorescence quenching once the aptamer (Flu-DEX-apt) attached to the rGO/PEI foams.…”

Co-Immobilization of Enzymes and Aptamers to create Self-Regenerating Ultrafiltration Membranes for Toxin Removal

“…Given that regeneration happens on the time scale of hours, we envision that this platform could be of practical use for personal water filtration, as water could be purified throughout the day, and the membrane regenerated upon storage overnight. Given the versatility of nucleic acid SELEX 24 to generate aptamers for a wide range of small-molecule targets coupled with the ability of Please do not adjust margins enzymes to degrade these molecules, we envision that future work will not only expand the scope of toxins that can be removed from water samples, but also enable the simultaneous capture and degradation of multiple types of these toxins.…”