Aptamers in drug design: An emerging weapon to fight a losing battle.

Aptamers in drug design: An emerging weapon to fight a losing battle. Curr Drug Targets. 2019 Jul 29;: Authors: Jose J, Thomas AM, Mendonsa D, Al-Sanea MM, Sahab Uddin M, Parambi DGT, Charyulu RN, Mathew B Abstract Implementation of novel and biocompatible polymers in drug design is an emerging and rapidly growing area of research. Even though we have large number of polymer materials for various applications, biocompatibility of these materials remains as a herculean task for researchers. Aptamers provide a vital and efficient solution to this problem. They are usually small (ranging from 20 to 60 pairs of nucleotides) single-strand of RNA or DNA oligonucleotides which are capable of binding to molecules possessing high affinity and other properties like specificity. This review focuses on different aspects of Aptamers in drug discovery starting from its preparation methods and covering the recent scenario reported in literature regarding their use in drug discovery. We explained the major role of Aptamers like medical imaging techniques, application as synthetic antibodies, and the most recent application, which is in combination with nanomedicines. Finally we address the limitations of Aptamers and provide valuable insights to their future potential in the areas regarding drug discovery research. PMID: 31362673 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Drug Targets - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Curr Drug Targets Source Type: research