Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 6, 2025
12:23
In Vitro Selection of Aptamers to Differentiate Infectious from Non-Infectious Viruses
Published on: September 7, 2022
1.9K
Evolution of a highly functional circular DNA aptamer in serum
Yu Mao1, Jimmy Gu2, Dingran Chang2
1School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
Nucleic Acids Research
|October 6, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed circular DNA aptamers that bind human thrombin in serum. This novel aptamer, CTBA4T-B1, shows high affinity, potent anticoagulation, and stability, paving the way for therapeutic applications.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Therapeutic Aptamer Development
Background:
- Circular DNA aptamers offer enhanced biostability for therapeutic use.
- Selecting aptamers directly in biological fluids is challenging but advantageous.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evolve circular DNA aptamers targeting human proteins directly within serum.
- To discover and characterize a novel circular DNA aptamer against human thrombin.
Main Methods:
- Aptamer selection directly in human serum against human thrombin.
- Characterization of binding affinity, anticoagulation activity, and stability in serum.
- Structural prediction of the evolved circular aptamer.
Main Results:
- Discovery of CTBA4T-B1, a circular DNA aptamer with high affinity (19 pM Kd) for human thrombin.
- CTBA4T-B1 demonstrated excellent anticoagulation activity (90 pM IC50) and serum stability (8 h half-life).
- The aptamer possesses a unique structural fold distinct from linear DNA aptamers.
Conclusions:
- Direct selection in serum yields highly effective circular DNA aptamers.
- CTBA4T-B1 represents a promising candidate for anticoagulation therapy.
- The methodology enables the development of aptamers in complex biological environments for therapeutic applications.
