Nanotechnology
Mohammad Reza Hosseini VeleshKolaei; Pooria Gill; Adele Rafati; Marzieh Adiani
Abstract
Considering the introduction of aptamers as a new generation of analyte identifiers, this class of materials can be used in diagnostic systems because aptamers are easier to produce, more sensitive, higher accuracy, less sensitive to environmental factors, easier to handle and can be used. A particular ...
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Considering the introduction of aptamers as a new generation of analyte identifiers, this class of materials can be used in diagnostic systems because aptamers are easier to produce, more sensitive, higher accuracy, less sensitive to environmental factors, easier to handle and can be used. A particular type of aptamer that has a sequence rich in guanine base can create a unique nanostructure called G-quadruplex. The creation of this structure gives the aptamer an enzyme property so that it can act like an enzyme in the vicinity of it, oxidise a chromogenic substrate and produce a coloured signal. The main way to produce aptamers is a laboratory technique called SELEX (Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment), in which a mixture of different oligo libraries near the target analyte creates aptamers in several consecutive cycles. The aim of this study was to introduce a novel approach for obtaining DNA aptamers for detecting a ligand such as an aflatoxin M1 in bioinformatically manner in replacing SELEX for obtaining the specific oligo aptamers against aflatoxin M1. For this purpose, the selected oligoaptamers' structures were predicted using molecular simulators and bioinformatic techniques. The results of these molecular simulations suggested G-quadruplex aptamers with a suitable affinity for binding to aflatoxin M1 in colourimetric assays.
