King G.C., Knox S.M., Williams B.B., Harris J., Gupta D.M., Di Giusto D.A., Gabutero E.R., Tyrelle G.D., Lai Y.-C., Aung M.T., McCutcheon S.T., Voelcker N., Le H.T.T.
School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, AU
Keywords: bioelectronics, DNA, Therapeutics
Much recent interest has focussed on applications of DNA in nanotechnology, while chemical biologists have adapted evolutionary processes to generate aptamers, folded nucleic acids with molecular recognition properties similar to protein antibodies. As yet there has been little overlap between the exploitation of DNA hybridization to create nanostructures and the three-dimensional recognition properties of aptamers. Seeking to merge these approaches, we have recently demonstrated a set of modular engineered di-, tri- and tetra-valent circular DNA aptamers (‘captamers’) directed against vascular protein targets [1]. In these constructs multivalency is employed for binding multiple target molecules while circularity provides thermal and exonucleolytic stability without the need for chemical modification. This class of multivalent aptamers has the potential to generate multitasking functionality across a range of applications including therapeutics, diagnostics and biomaterials
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 1, Technical Proceedings of the 2005 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 1
Published: May 8, 2005
Pages: 258 - 261
Industry sectors: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing | Medical & Biotech
Topic: Biomaterials
ISBN: 0-9767985-0-6