Owing to a variety of advantages and unique adaptability of aptamers to point-of-care (POC) platforms, aptamer technology has created a stable niche in the field of in vitro diagnostics (IVD) by enhancing the speed and accuracy of diagnoses. Creative Biolabs has launched the aptamer technology for many years and now we are expanding our diagnostic development for many diseases in collaboration with our partners. Creative Biolabs is proud to offer aptamer development services and aptamer products for research use in a timely and cost-effective manner. We also provide turn-key or ala carte services customized to our client’s needs.
Aptamers for Diagnostic Use
Antibody-based diagnostic assays are widely used to detect, characterize, and monitor disease. For some diseases, the development of specific antibody reagents and test assays has proven particularly challenging. In such cases, diagnostic aptamers are enabling the development of tests that are faster, more robust, more user-friendly, and more accessible than ever before. The aptamer market is continually growing and is expected to make great contributions to the diagnostic industry. In recent years, aptamers have been used in various POC diagnostic platforms such as lateral flow test strips, electrochemical sensors-based assays, fluorescence-based assays, electrochemiluminescence (ECL) assays, upconverting fluorophore-based assays, aptamer-linked immobilized sorbent assay (ALISA), Dot-blot (DB), and nanoparticle-based assays for the detection of various analytes ranging from small molecules to complex antigens to the whole cell.
Fig.1 Significant roles of aptamers in cancer diagnosis and therapy.1, 2
- Aptamers for Cancer Diagnosis
- Aptamers for Viral Infection Diagnosis
- Aptamers for Bacterial Infection Diagnosis
- Aptamers for Cardiovascular Diseases Diagnosis
- Aptamers for Thrombin Detection
- Aptamers for Lysozyme Detection
Technology Features
Aptamer could be developed for flow cytometry applications. By utilizing aptamers, Creative Biolabs can develop magnetic bead-based cell isolation products that can efficiently isolate marker-positive cells. Enriched cell subpopulations can be easily assessed using flow cytometry as the aptamers used are dual-labeled. On the one hand, there exists a biotin label to capture the target cells by streptavidin-coated magnetic beads. On the other hand, the aptamer has a FITC label to monitor the captured cells using flow cytometry. This approach provides an efficient and rapid platform to isolate the specific biomarker-positive cells with high yield, purity, and cell viability. Some biomarkers are expressed at very low levels and their detection is difficult by other diagnostic approaches such as ELISA, WB, IP. Under this circumstance, using the biomarker-specific aptamer, cells having rare biomarkers on their surfaces could be pulled down from serum or other fluids and detected.
Fig.2 The schematic diagram of aptamer-based diagnostic solution principle.
Services at Creative Biolabs
- Aptamer Generation & Selection Service
- Aptamer-based Conjugation Services
- Aptamer Modifications & Optimization Services
- Aptamer Characterization Services
- Aptamer In Vitro/In Vivo Analysis Services
- Aptamer Screening Services
- Aptamer-based Biomarker Detection services
- Aptamer-based Cell Detection Services
Please contact us to learn more about our aptamer-related services.
Published Data
1. High-Throughput Aptamer-based Colorimetric Aptasensor for Staphylococcus aureus Detection
Fig.3 Analytical performance of designed biosensor.3,2
This study developed a high-throughput colorimetric biosensor for detecting Staphylococcus aureus (SA) using a specific aptamer and a dsDNA-fluorescent nucleic acid stain complex. The SA-specific aptamer was attached to a 96-well plate by hybridizing with a capture probe anchored to the plate surface via streptavidin-biotin binding. In the presence of SA, the aptamer separated from the capture probe-aptamer complex as the aptamer binds more strongly to SA. The single-strand capture probe then hybridized with a three-way junction (TWJ) probe. Using fluorescent stain, the resulting dsDNA-stain complex catalyzed the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) upon photo-irradiation, generating a sensitive colorimetric response. The method could detect SA with a limit of detection (LOD) of 81 CFU/mL in 5.5 hours, showing high specificity for SA with weak signals for E. coli and P. aeruginosa. The technique allowed for simultaneous detection of 96 samples, making it suitable for clinical diagnostics, food safety, and environmental monitoring.
2. A Novel Aptamer-Based Approach for Trypanosoma cruzi Detection in Blood
Fig.4 High binding specificity of aptamers with T. cruzi trypomastigotes.4,2
This study explored a parasite concentration approach for PCR-based detection of T. cruzi. A whole-cell SELEX approach was employed to select serum-stable RNA aptamers that specifically bind to live T. cruzi trypomastigotes with high affinities (8–25 nM). The aptamer with the highest affinity showed high specificity, binding only to T. cruzi trypomastigotes and not to other related parasites, like T. brucei and L. donovani. Biotinylated aptamers immobilized on a solid phase captured live parasites, forming visible aggregates when bound to paramagnetic beads. The aptamer effectively captured trypomastigotes from various isolates of T. cruzi genotypes. Using a magnet, aptamer-bead aggregates were isolated from parasite-spiked whole blood samples, enabling the detection of as few as 5 parasites in 15 mL of blood through real-time PCR. This method demonstrates aptamers as effective ligands for PCR-based detection of T. cruzi.
References
- Prakash, Joy Sebastian, and Karunanithi Rajamanickam. "Aptamers and their significant role in cancer therapy and diagnosis." Biomedicines 3.3 (2015): 248-269.
- Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.
- Yu, Tianxiao, et al. "Aptamer based high throughput colorimetric biosensor for detection of staphylococcus aureus." Scientific reports 10.1 (2020): 9190.
- Nagarkatti, Rana, et al. "Development of an aptamer-based concentration method for the detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in blood." (2012): e43533.
For Research Use Only.
