Nucleic Acid Aptamer‐Mediated Drug Delivery for Targeted Cancer Therapy |
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| Authors: | Huijie Zhu Jin Li Prof. Xiao‐Bing Zhang Prof. Mao Ye Prof. Weihong Tan |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Molecular Science & Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing & Chemometrics, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, and College of Biology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Engineering for Theranostics, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082 (China);2. Center for Research at Bio/Nano Interface, Departments of Chemistry and Physiology & Functional Genomics, Shands Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611‐7200 (USA) |
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| Abstract: | Aptamers are emerging as promising therapeutic agents and recognition elements. In particular, cell‐SELEX ( s ystematic e volution of l igands by ex ponential enrichment) allows in vitro selection of aptamers selective to whole cells without prior knowledge of the molecular signatures on the cell surface. The advantage of aptamers is their high affinitiy and binding specificity towards the target. This Minireview focuses on single‐stranded (ss) oligonucleotide (DNA or RNA)‐based aptamers as cancer therapeutics/theranostics. Specifically, aptamer–nanomaterial conjugates, aptamer–drug conjugates, targeted phototherapy and targeted biotherapy are covered in detail. In reviewing the literature, the potential of aptamers as delivery systems for therapeutic and imaging applications in cancer is clear, however, major challenges remain to be resolved, such as the poorly understood pharmacokinetics, toxicity and off‐target effects, before they can be fully exploited in a clinical setting. |
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| Keywords: | Aptamers Cancer Drug delivery Nucleic acids Theranostics Therapeutics |
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