Molecular Elucidation of Disease Biomarkers at the Interface of Chemistry and Biology

• DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b10646
• Publication Date: 2017-01-25T19:40:22Z
• Authors: Liqin Zhang; Shuo Wan; Ying Jiang; Yanyue Wang; Ting Fu; Qiaoling Liu; Zhijuan Cao; Liping Qiu; Weihong Tan
• Keywords: Aptamer; Biomarker Discovery; Identification; Personalized Medicine

Disease-related biomarkers are objectively measurable molecular signatures of physiological status that can serve as disease indicators or drug targets in clinical diagnosis and therapy, thus acting a tool support personalized medicine. For example, the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) biomarker is now widely used to screen patients for prostate cancer. However, few such currently available, process identification validation prolonged complicated by inefficient methods discovery reliable analytical platforms. Therefore, this Perspective, we look at advanced chemistry aptamer molecules their significant role probes studies. As special class functional nucleic acids evolved from an iterative technology termed Systematic Evolution Ligands Exponential Enrichment (SELEX), these single-stranded oligonucleotides recognize respective with selectivity affinity comparable those protein antibodies. Because fast turnaround time exceptional chemical properties, novel tools investigations, particularly assisting new disease-related biomarkers. More importantly, aptamers able complex biological environments blood serum cell surfaces, which provide direct evidence further applications. This Perspective highlights several major advancements aptamer-based strategies potential contribution practice precision