Recent Progress in the Identification of Aptamers Against Bacterial Origins and Their Diagnostic Applications

Abstract

Aptamers have gained an increasing role as the molecular recognition element (MRE) in diagnostic assay development, since their first conception thirty years ago. The process to screen for nucleic acid-based binding elements (aptamers) was first described in 1990 by the Gold Laboratory. In the last three decades, many aptamers have been identified for a wide array of targets. In particular, the number of reports on investigating single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) aptamer applications in biosensing and diagnostic platforms have increased significantly in recent years. This review article summarizes the recent (2015 to 2020) progress of ssDNA aptamer research on bacteria, proteins, and lipids of bacterial origins that have implications for human infections. The basic process of aptamer selection, the principles of aptamer-based biosensors, and future perspectives will also be discussed.

Carbon Nanomaterial Fluorescent Probes and Their Biological Applications

“…In comparison, antibiotics and lectins, which achieve their antimicrobial action by attaching to the bacteria’s cell wall or outer membrane, are more affordable but often lack the desired selectivity. Aptamers stand out in this landscape as their binding specificity rivals that of antibodies, yet they are more versatileeasy to synthesize, resilient under various conditions, and adaptable . All of this makes them suitable for bacterial detection in environmental samples, offering a balance of specificity, stability, and practicality.…”

Novel Biorecognition Elements against Pathogens in the Design of State-of-the-Art Diagnostics

“…In addition to the abovementioned studies, there are currently many other examples of aptamers used to identify various pathogens and their biomarkers [ 89 , 90 , 91 ]. Table 2 and Table 3 summarise other examples of aptamers used to identify human bacterial pathogens and viral human pathogens, respectively, for the diagnosis of infections.…”

Aptamers against Pathogenic Bacteria: Selection Strategies and Apta-assay/Aptasensor Application for Food Safety

“…In recent years, the research and progress of aptamers for pathogens are more and more; therefore, numerous reviews have been published on the selection and application of antipathogen aptamers. − Most of them describe the target types of pathogen aptamer selection − or outline each SELEX step one by one . Others focus on the principles and applications of aptamer-based detection of various pathogens .…”

“…In recent years, the research and progress of aptamers for pathogens are more and more; therefore, numerous reviews have been published on the selection and application of antipathogen aptamers. − Most of them describe the target types of pathogen aptamer selection − or outline each SELEX step one by one . Others focus on the principles and applications of aptamer-based detection of various pathogens . Future applications of aptamers to pathogens will benefit from these efforts; therefore, this work is committed to providing an in-depth and thorough analysis and overview of the aptamer selection process and analytical application.…”