Effects of Environmentally Acquired Heavy Metals and Nutrients on the Epigenome and Phenotype

Skaar, David; Murphy, Susan K.; Hoyo, Cathrine

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-27449-2_5

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 211 publications

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“…On the other hand, heavy metals are produced from various anthropogenic sources such as mining and solid waste combustion processes, and are released into soil and water bodies at levels disproportionate to their uptake by plants and microorganisms in soil and water habitats, and this poses significant health risks to the ecosystem. Heavy metals such as Cd, Ar, Cr, Hg, Pb, Ag, and Cu are known to be cytotoxic [27], carcinogenic and mutagenic [28][29][30], and exhibit toxicity even at low concentrations [30,31]. As heavy metals are non-biodegradable, they easily accumulate and persist in the environment polluting the food chain and disrupting the balance of the ecosystem [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aptamer Utility in Sensor Platformsfor the Detection of Toxins and Heavy Metals

2017

J Toxins

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Nucleic acid research has expanded in recent years through the development of an in vitro methodology for the derivation of functional nucleic acids, capable of binding to specific targets with high specificity and sensitivity. These activities are similar to those of antibodies, yet the single-stranded oligonucleotide, called aptamer, can be readily created on a large-scale using solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis. This relative ease of synthesis has made aptamers a highly versatile tool for the detection of important targets for applications in imaging, diagnostics and therapeutics. Aptamers are able to show high fidelity to specific targets due to their selective affinities. They undergo structural alteration and topological changes when they bind to specific targets and most sensors using aptamers today leverage on this characteristic to record a detectable signal. The use of aptamers in modern applications is vast and cannot possibly be covered in a single review. This review explicitly focuses on DNA aptamers used for detecting toxins and heavy metals, and outlines their utility in contemporary sensor designs, and their future prospects as analytical tools.

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