Aptamer-based CRISPR-Cas12a fluorescent biosensors for serum biomarker detection

The CRISPR-Cas12a system enables sensitive nucleic acid detection due to its programmability, trans-cleavage activity, and biocompatibility. To expand its applications beyond nucleic acid analysis, aptamers have emerged as ideal recognition elements owing to their high specificity, design flexibility, ease of modification and low cost. The integration of Cas12a with aptamers enables the conversion of target-binding signals into nucleic acid recognition signals, thereby combining molecular recognition with signal amplification for the detection of non-nucleic acid targets. This review provides a concise overview of the working mechanism and features of the Cas12a system, with particular emphasis on recent advances in Cas12a-aptamer-based fluorescent biosensors for serum biomarker detection. The advantages and limitations, current challenges, and future prospects are also discussed.