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A Flow Cytometry-Based Cell Surface Protein Binding Assay for Assessing Selectivity and Specificity of an Anticancer Aptamer

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Aptamers as target-specific recognition elements in drug delivery.

Egbe Vydaline Agbor Otu¹, Sergei Rozhkov², German Sosa³

¹Biochemistry, CUNY Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States.

Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews

|September 9, 2025

Summary

Nucleic acid aptamers offer precise targeted drug delivery, enhancing cancer therapy efficacy and reducing side effects. These versatile molecules are engineered into advanced delivery systems for improved patient outcomes in precision medicine.

Keywords:

Aptamer-drug conjugates Aptamers Drug delivery Nanoparticles Photosensitizers Targeted therapy

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Published on: October 6, 2022

Area of Science:

Biotechnology
Nanomedicine
Molecular Biology

Background:

Conventional cancer therapies like chemotherapy and radiotherapy cause severe side effects.
Nucleic acid aptamers are short oligonucleotides with high target-binding affinity.
Aptamers offer advantages over antibodies, including lower immunogenicity and better stability.

Purpose of the Study:

To review recent advances in aptamer modification and conjugation strategies.
To assess aptamers as drug delivery vehicles and therapeutic agents.
To discuss the role of aptamers in advancing precision medicine.

Main Methods:

Selection of aptamers against specific targets using SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment).
Chemical modification of aptamers for conjugation with drugs, nanoparticles, and other constructs.
Engineering aptamers into various delivery platforms like aptamer-drug conjugates and DNA origami.

Main Results:

Aptamers enable highly targeted drug delivery, recognizing unique molecular signatures on cells.
Engineered aptamer platforms facilitate controlled drug release at disease sites.
Modified aptamers conjugated with chemotherapeutic agents, gold nanoparticles, and photosensitizers show therapeutic potential.

Conclusions:

Aptamers represent a promising tool for precision drug delivery and cancer therapy.
Aptamer-based strategies significantly reduce systemic toxicity and enhance therapeutic efficacy.
Innovations in aptamer modification and engineering are driving progress in precision medicine.