From Molecular Diagnostics to Therapeutics with Aptamers

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One of the most demanding and challenging tasks of bioanalytical chemistry and bioseparation is the replacement of animal- and hybridoma-made antibodies that have high production cost and short shelf life with artificial competitors that can be easily selected and chemically synthesized in high purity at low cost. Aptamers as “synthetic antibodies” have enormous potential. These small single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotides can bind with high affinity and specificity to a variety of different targets ranging from small molecules to proteins. They are affinity ligands with significant potential to change the field of affinity probes and to replace antibodies as diagnostic and separation applications. I propose the development of three related research themes: 1) affinity purification of cells by switchable aptamers, 2) detection and imaging of rare cells by aptamers, and 3) discovery of rare cell biomarker by aptamers and mass spectrometry.