Influenza A virus-specific aptamers screened by using an integrated microfluidic system

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Molecular Diagnostics
• Virology

Background:

• Influenza A virus poses significant global health risks due to high morbidity, mortality, and pandemic potential.
• Accurate and timely diagnosis is essential for controlling influenza outbreaks.
• Aptamers offer advantages over antibodies for diagnostic assays, including stability and cost-effectiveness, but their selection via SELEX is resource-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an automated and efficient microfluidic system for aptamer screening.
• To select a specific aptamer for the influenza A/H1N1 virus.
• To evaluate the aptamer's utility in a diagnostic assay for clinical samples.

Main Methods:

• Development of an integrated microfluidic system for aptamer selection.
• Application of Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) on the microfluidic platform.
• Implementation of the selected aptamer in a magnetic-bead assay for virus detection.

Main Results:

• Successful automated and efficient screening of an aptamer specific to the influenza A/H1N1 virus.
• The selected aptamer demonstrated specific and sensitive detection of the virus in a magnetic-bead assay.
• Effective detection was achieved even in complex biological matrices like throat swabs.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic SELEX technology enables rapid and efficient aptamer screening for influenza A/H1N1.
• The selected aptamer is a promising candidate for sensitive and specific clinical diagnosis of influenza A/H1N1.
• This platform technology holds potential for accelerating aptamer discovery against other pathogens.