Aptamer-based fluorescent sensors for the detection of cancer biomarkers

Aptamers are short single-stranded RNA or DNA molecules that can recognize a series of targets with high affinity and specificity. Known as "chemical antibodies", aptamers have many unique merits, including ease of chemical synthesis, high chemical stability, low molecular weight, lack of immunogenicity, and ease of modification and manipulation compared to their protein counterparts. Using aptamers as the recognition groups, fluorescent aptasensors provide exciting opportunities for sensitive detection and quantification of analytes. Herein, we give an overview on the recent development of aptamer-based fluorescent sensors for the detection of cancer biomarkers. Based on various nanostructured sensor designs, we extended our discussions on sensitivity, specificity and the potential applications of aptamer-based fluorescent sensors in early diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of cancers.