Wednesday 10 September 2014

What is an Aptamer?

Aptamers area unit fiber desoxyribonucleic acid or ribonucleic acid (ssDNA or ssRNA) molecules which will bind to pre-selected targets as well as proteins and peptides with high affinity and specificity. These molecules will assume a range of shapes attributable to their propensity to create helices and fiber loops, explaining their skillfulness in binding to numerous targets. they're used as sensors, and therapeutic tools, and to manage cellular processes, still on guide medicine to their specific cellular targets. Contrary to the particular genetic material, their specificity and characteristics don't seem to be directly determined by their primary sequence, however instead by their tertiary structure.

More specifically, aptamers will be classified as:

  • DNA or ribonucleic acid or XNA aptamers. They comprises (usually short) strands of oligonucleotides.
  • Peptide aptamers. They comprises a brief variable amide domain, connected at each ends to a supermolecule scaffold.