A review of nucleic acid aptamer-functionalized metal-organic frameworks for cancer biomarker detection

Timely detection of cancer is an important step towards better cure rates, and patient prognosis, and the sensitive detection of biomarkers is a significant milestone in this direction. Biosensing uses of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) due to the high specific surface area, tunable pore size, and excellent functionalization capability have unique benefits. Through the combination of high-affinity nucleic acid aptamers and MOFs, the resulting sensors could have a better sensitivity and sensing performance. This review is a summary of the research development in the last five years on aptamer-MOF composite systems in detecting cancer biomarkers. Particular emphasis is placed on immobilization strategies, signal transduction mechanisms, and the development of electrochemical、optical、photoelectrochemical、 electrochemiluminescent and other emerging sensing platforms, as well as their use in the detection of biomarkers, including ATP、CEA、CA15-3 and ctDNA. Lastly, the performance, constraints, and prospects of aptamer-MOF biosensors are addressed, including aptamer-MOF sensor sensitivity, aptamer-MOF sensor selectivity, aptamer-MOF sensor reproducibility, and aptamer-MOF sensor translatability.