Abstract
Aptamers are short non-naturally occurring single stranded DNA or RNA able to bind tightly, due to their specific three-dimensional shapes, to a multitude of targets ranging from small chemical compounds to cells and tissues. Since their first discovery, aptamers became a valuable research tool and show great application to fundamental research, drug selection and clinical diagnosis and therapy. Thanks to their unique characteristics (low size, good affinity for the target, no immunogeneicity, chemical structures that can be easily modified to improve their in vivo applications), aptamers may represent a valid alternative to antibodies particularly for the treatment of neurological disorders that urgently need modalities for drug delivery through the blood brain barrier. Aptamers have excellent potential as reagents for the targeted delivery of active drug substances, either through direct conjugation to the aptamer, or through their encapsulation in aptamer-coated vesicles. We will review here the recent and innovative methods that have been developed and the possible applications of aptamers as inhibitors or tracers in neurological disorders and brain cancer.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, aptamers, blood-brain barrier, brain cancer, central nervous system, Parkinson's disease, prion diseases, SELEX
CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets
Title: Aptamers as Innovative Diagnostic and Therapeutic Agents in the Central Nervous System
Volume: 8 Issue: 5
Author(s): Vittorio de Franciscis, Carla Lucia Esposito, Silvia Catuogno, Luciano Cellai and Laura Cerchia
Affiliation:
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, aptamers, blood-brain barrier, brain cancer, central nervous system, Parkinson's disease, prion diseases, SELEX
Abstract: Aptamers are short non-naturally occurring single stranded DNA or RNA able to bind tightly, due to their specific three-dimensional shapes, to a multitude of targets ranging from small chemical compounds to cells and tissues. Since their first discovery, aptamers became a valuable research tool and show great application to fundamental research, drug selection and clinical diagnosis and therapy. Thanks to their unique characteristics (low size, good affinity for the target, no immunogeneicity, chemical structures that can be easily modified to improve their in vivo applications), aptamers may represent a valid alternative to antibodies particularly for the treatment of neurological disorders that urgently need modalities for drug delivery through the blood brain barrier. Aptamers have excellent potential as reagents for the targeted delivery of active drug substances, either through direct conjugation to the aptamer, or through their encapsulation in aptamer-coated vesicles. We will review here the recent and innovative methods that have been developed and the possible applications of aptamers as inhibitors or tracers in neurological disorders and brain cancer.
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de Franciscis Vittorio, Esposito Lucia Carla, Catuogno Silvia, Cellai Luciano and Cerchia Laura, Aptamers as Innovative Diagnostic and Therapeutic Agents in the Central Nervous System, CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets 2009; 8 (5) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187152709789542023
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187152709789542023 |
Print ISSN 1871-5273 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1996-3181 |
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