Aptamer-Drug Conjugates Development Service

Introduction to Aptamer

Aptamer refers to a group of the single-stranded oligonucleotide or peptide molecules with specific tertiary structures that are capable to bind to various target molecules in high-affinity and high-specific manners. Proposed in 1990, most developed aptamers are nucleic acid aptamers, which are generated by the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) in vitro. Nucleic acid aptamers are essentially DNA or RNA short and single-stranded oligonucleotides, and the binding of aptamers with ligands or targets is based on the diversity of nucleic acid structure and spatial conformation.

Similar to antibody, aptamers can be produced against a variety of targets or ligands, such as proteins, small compounds, and live cells, which may be developed as an alternative to the antibody in the applications of biological research, diagnosis, drug discovery, and therapeutics. Plenty of attempts have been made to improve the therapeutic efficiency of the aptamer, such as chemical modifications of nucleic acid and conjugation with other structures.

advantages of aptamers and their related applications. Fig.1 advantages of aptamers and their related applications. (Ding, 2017)

What are Aptamer-Drug Conjugates?

Inspired by antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that have made great achievements in cancer target immunotherapy, aptamer-drug conjugates (ApDCs) have been extensively researched for drug targeted delivery and cancer targeted therapy. The optimized aptamers can serve as a specific vehicle that conjugates with various therapeutic drugs and guide them to target diseased sites. ApDCs not only improve the target and bioavailability of the therapeutic loaded drugs, but also significantly decreased the drug toxicity in healthy tissues. There are several ApDC types according to the loaded drug molecules, such as:

  1. Aptamer-protein/peptide conjugates
  2. Aptamer-protein/peptide conjugates are the most extensively researched and applied ApDCs, of which the aptamers can be conjugated with antigens, antibodies, enzymes, and other therapeutic proteins or peptides. By tagging to modified aptamers, these proteins or peptides are selectively delivered target cells for the treatment of related diseases.

  3. Aptamer-chemotherapeutic conjugates
  4. Chemotherapeutics are preferred for the treatments for cancer therapy but are limited due to the side effects and toxicity to healthy tissues. This off-target can be improved by conjugating the chemotherapeutics to site-specifically modified aptamers in a covalent or non-covalent manner.

  5. Aptamer-therapeutic gene fragment conjugates
  6. Gene therapy that transfers therapeutic gene fragments or gene regulators using viral and non-viral vectors has attracted much attention for the treatment of a variety of diseases. The aptamer can serve as a non-viral vector to selective deliver these therapeutic gene fragments to target diseased tissues or organs.

Aptamer-drug conjugates. Fig.2 Aptamer-drug conjugates. (Verboon, 2016)

Aptamer-Drug Conjugates Development Service at Creative Biolabs

Advanced genetic technology has greatly facilitated the development of aptamers-drug conjugates. Equipped with a well-constructed technology platform and abundant expertise, Creative Biolabs offers you optimized and customized aptamers-drug conjugates development services wherever you are located. Our conjugated drug molecules widely cover protein, peptides, antibodies, antigens, enzymes, genes, small chemicals, and so forth.

All you need to do is contact us directly, and communicate with us about your specific demands or ideas. Our seasoned scientists will reply to you with a tailored solution as soon as possible.

References

  1. Ding, F., et al. Recent progresses in biomedical applications of aptamer-functionalized systems. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 2017, 27(18): 4256-4269.
  2. Verboon, L. Fight cancer with the patient’s own immune system -A literature-based search for new cell surface markers to aid targeted cancer treatment with chimeric aptamers. 2016.

Related Product

Questions & Answer

A: Aptamer-drug conjugates use aptamers as targeting ligands, whereas antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) use monoclonal antibodies. Aptamers are smaller, more stable, and can target a wider range of molecules compared to antibodies.

A: Factors such as aptamer selection, drug choice, linker stability, and conjugation chemistry are considered during aptamer-drug conjugate design to ensure optimal targeting, efficacy, and safety.

A: Aptamer-drug conjugates are typically synthesized by covalently linking the aptamer to the drug molecule through a stable linker, forming a single chemical entity. Challenges include optimizing target specificity, achieving efficient drug loading, minimizing off-target effects, ensuring stability, and managing potential immunogenicity.

For Research Use Only.
Services

Online Inquiry