Aptamer-based nanobiosensors

It has been more than two decades since aptamer and the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) method were discovered by Larry Gold and Andrew Ellington in 1990, respectively. Based on the various advantages of aptamers, they have become a potent rival of antibodies in therapeutics and bio-analysis. Especially, the recent advances in aptamer biosensor application are remarkable due to its intrinsic properties of aptamers as nucleic acids and target induced conformational changes, in addition to the introduction of graphene oxide-based easy and simple immobilization-free screening method even for dual aptamers. In addition, the incorporation of various nanomaterials such as metallic nanoparticles, carbon materials, and functional nanospheres in aptasensors has facilitated the improvement of analytical performance and commercial application of aptasensors. In this review, recent prominent reports on aptasensors utilizing nanomaterials were introduced to understand the principle of aptamer-based biosensors and provide an insight for new strategies of aptasensors and the application of various nanomaterials. The perspective on aptamer-based biosensors and diagnostics was also discussed in view of technology and market.