Research Advances Of Aptamers Selection For Bacterium Targets

Aptamers are RNA or singal stranded DNA (ssDNA), which are selected by systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). Compared to antibodies, aptamers as chemical antibodies are artificially synthesized with low cost. They can bind a wide range of targets, including small molecules, large biological molecules, bacteria and cells. Aptamers targeting bacteria have the potential to be used for pathogen detection in food, medicine and environment. To select aptamers with high affinity to bacteria, centrifugation is mostly used. Binding affinity can be estimated by fluorescence imaging, fluorescence spectra, flow cytometry, DNA capture element (DCE) and enzyme-linked aptamers sorbent assay (ELASA). Selected aptamers combined with biological and chemical analysis methods can be used in bacteria detection. This article introduces the latest development in aptamer selection, characterization and application for bacteria detection and summarizes the aptamers for bacteria from 2011 to 2015.