Aptamers for omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3脂肪酸（Omega-3）对人体健康非常重要，但超过70%的加拿大人缺乏Omega-3脂肪酸。目前，个人的Omega-3水平是通过私人实验室的血液检测来确定的，使用的方法既陈旧、繁琐又耗时。Pivotal Therapeutics公司一直有兴趣开发一种可以在护理点（POC）或个人自己进行的快速测试，以监测他们的Omega-3状态。然而，开发这种测试的主要障碍是缺乏任何针对Omega-3的特异性识别探针。在获得Engage资助的情况下，Pivotal一直与麦克马斯特大学的李英富博士合作，开发基于DNA适体的Omega-3分子探针，该团队已经取得了重大进展，并分离出了几种能够区分各种Omega脂肪酸的适体。通过这项资助，Pivotal和李博士将继续

Omega-3 fatty acids (Omega-3) are very important to human health, but more than 70% of Canadians are Omega-3 deficient. Currently, Omega-3 status of individuals is determined via blood test in private laboratories using a method that is old, tedious, and time consuming. Pivotal Therapeutics Inc has been interested in developing a rapid test that can be performed at the point of care (POC) or by individuals themselves to monitor their Omega-3 status. However, the major hindrance for developing such a test is lack of availability of any recognition probes that are specific for Omega-3. Through an awarded Engage grant, Pivotal has been collaborating with Dr. Yingfu Li at McMaster University to develop DNA aptamer based molecular probes for Omega-3, and together the team has made significant progress, and have isolated several aptamers that can differentially recognize various Omega fatty acids. Through this Engage Plus grant Pivotal and Dr. Li will keep