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Aptamers as a novel tool for diagnostics and therapy

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Summary

Aptamers are short single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotides that are capable of binding small molecules, proteins, or nucleotides with high specificity. They show a stable conformation and high binding affinity for their target molecules. There are numerous applications for aptamers in biotechnology, molecular diagnostics and targeted therapy of diseases. Their production is cheap, and they generally display lower immunogenicity than monoclonal antibodies. In the present review, we give an introduction to the preparation of aptamers and provide examples for their use in biotechnology, diagnostics and therapy of diseases.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128, Mainz, Germany

    Onat Kadioglu, Anna Helena Malczyk & Thomas Efferth

  2. Biomedical Sciences Institute Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Henry Johannes Greten

  3. Heidelberg School of Chinese Medicine, Heidelberg, Germany

    Henry Johannes Greten

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  1. Onat Kadioglu
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  2. Anna Helena Malczyk
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  3. Henry Johannes Greten
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  4. Thomas Efferth
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Correspondence to Thomas Efferth.

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Kadioglu, O., Malczyk, A.H., Greten, H.J. et al. Aptamers as a novel tool for diagnostics and therapy. Invest New Drugs 33, 513–520 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10637-015-0213-y

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