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Nucleic Acid Aptamer Screening

What are Aptamers?

Aptamers operate as brief DNA or RNA sequences that fold into three-dimensional shapes to bind with various targets including proteins small molecules and cells. Because of their promising applications in drug development scientists have called these molecules "chemical antibodies" or "nucleic acid antibodies". Aptamers offer several advantages over protein antibodies:

  • Aptamers undergo simple in vitro chemical synthesis making them affordable and remain stable as powder that can be stored at room temperature. Aptamers maintain stability at 4°C better than antibodies do.
  • Aptamers demonstrate broad applicability toward a wide range of targets including metal ions small molecules peptides glycans proteins viruses bacteria cells tissues and organs.
  • Thanks to their small molecular weight and low immunogenicity aptamers easily penetrate cells and maintain high bioavailability which enables their dual function as antagonists and agonists delivery vehicles while they demonstrate therapeutic potential in targeted therapy molecular imaging drug delivery biosensors and gene therapy.

Diverse areas of aptamer application.Figure 1. Diverse areas of aptamer application. (Source: Byun J, 2021)

SELEX or Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential Enrichment remains the standard approach for selecting aptamers. It involves the following steps:

1. The target incubates together with the random oligonucleotide library during the screening process.

2. Binding sequences are separated and amplified.

3. Multiple selection and amplification cycles produce aptamers with both high affinity and specificity for their targets.

Why Choose Protein Array-Based Aptamer Screening?

Aptamer screening benefits greatly from the use of protein array technology.

  • High-throughput: The technology supports concurrent examination of numerous proteins which conserves both time and resources during multiple target investigations.
  • Easy to Operate: The direct detection of binding in protein arrays that come after incubating with an aptamer library streamlines discovery compared to SELEX method.
  • Broad applicability: Known and accessible protein targets work well with this method which identifies specific protein-aptamer bindings quickly.

Creative Diagnostics offers protein array services to facilitate nucleic acid aptamer screening. Our proprietary protein array technology allows us to deliver a complete solution for drug development and screening processes. The services we provide support multiple applications like drug screening and toxicity assessment as well as signal pathway analysis and protein-protein interaction studies. Creative Diagnostics delivers allergen screening services along with antibody analysis and oncology drug screening while developing immunoproteins and vaccine technologies to advance discovery and therapeutic development.

Service Content Examples

Array ExamplePanel NameMarker CombinationTarget ApplicationPossible Sample Preparation
Pre-designed protein ArrayAptamer DiscoveryFluorescently labeled nucleic acidIdentification of aptamers binding to specific target proteinsPurified protein samples, cell lysates, serum

Service Features

  • High-sensitivity molecular detection: Our protein arrays enable the high-sensitivity detection of specific interactions.
  • Real-time in vivo imaging: We offer imaging capabilities for real-time monitoring of biological processes.
  • Multiplex labeling and multi-parameter analysis: Our platform supports complex biological network analysis with multiplex labeling experiments.
  • Low background noise detection: Our technology ensures minimal interference for accurate results.
  • Personalized customization services: We provide customized solutions for labeling probes, experimental design, and high-throughput screening.
  • Comprehensive applications: Our services are applicable to biomedical detection and imaging, cancer marker screening, drug target screening, antibody development, and more.

Our platform has strong high-throughput processing capabilities for efficient large-scale screening projects. By choosing our protein array platform, you gain access to an advanced solution that combines precision and efficiency. Our professional team has extensive expertise in the field and can offer flexible customized services to meet your specific research needs. Throughout the collaboration, our customer service team will provide full support to ensure your research progresses smoothly.

References

  1. Yan J, Xiong H, Cai S, et al. Advances in aptamer screening technologies. Talanta. 2019;200:124-144.
  2. Escudero-Abarca BI, Suh SH, Moore MD, Dwivedi HP, Jaykus LA. Selection, characterization and application of nucleic acid aptamers for the capture and detection of human norovirus strains. PLoS One. 2014;9(9):e106805.
  3. Park KS. Nucleic acid aptamer-based methods for diagnosis of infections. Biosens Bioelectron. 2018;102:179-188.
  4. Byun J. Recent progress and opportunities for nucleic acid aptamers. Life (Basel). 2021;11(3):193.
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