Piezoelectric biosensors for aptamer-protein interaction

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Aptamers are functional nucleic acids that can be developed as alternatives to antibodies for biosensor applications.
• The Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) process is used to isolate aptamers from large oligonucleotide libraries.
• Aptamers are valuable for molecular recognition in analytical, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the application of aptamers as biorecognition elements in piezoelectric biosensors.
• To demonstrate the specific use of aptamers for the detection of thrombin.

Main Methods:

• Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) for aptamer selection.
• In vitro selection and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification for aptamer enrichment.
• Integration of aptamers into piezoelectric biosensor platforms.

Main Results:

• Successful isolation of functional aptamers through the SELEX process.
• Demonstration of aptamers' capability as biorecognition elements in biosensors.
• Specific application of aptamers for sensitive thrombin detection.

Conclusions:

• Aptamers are effective biorecognition elements for biosensor development.
• Piezoelectric biosensors utilizing aptamers show potential for analytical and diagnostic applications.
• Aptamer-based detection of thrombin is feasible and offers a viable alternative to traditional methods.