Guest Editors
Ana Díaz-Fernández
University of Oviedo, Spain
Ana Díaz-Fernández received her BS in Chemistry in 2015 and her MS in Analytical and Bioanalytical Sciences in 2016 from the University of Oviedo. In 2016, she joined the Chemical, Biochemical and Structural Analysis and Computational Modeling doctoral program at the University of Oviedo and is now a senior PhD student. At the University of Oviedo, she works as a researcher in the Electroanalysis research group headed by Prof. M. J. Lobo-Castañón. Her current research is focused on the selection of aptamers for the development of new aptamer-based biosensors for glycoproteins biomarkers for cancer diagnosis.
María Jesús Lobo-Castañón
University of Oviedo, Spain
María Jesús Lobo-Castañón holds a PhD in Chemistry and leads the Electroanalysis research group at the University of Oviedo in Spaizn. Since 2007, she has been Full Professor in Analytical Chemistry at said university. Her research interests focus on the development of electrochemical sensors for clinical diagnosis and food analysis, using different molecular recognition elements, such as enzymes, DNA, and aptamers. She is author of over 110 articles and various book chapters in that field. All her written work is available on the group website http://www.unioviedo.es/electroanalisis/
Collection Overview
Aptamers are synthetic, single stranded DNA or RNA molecules that can recognize and bind to almost any type of target by folding into complex 3D structures. Obtained in an in vitro selection process called SELEX, they are similar to antibodies but have some advantages due to their ease of generation, low production cost, low batch-to-batch variability, reversible folding properties, and low immunogenicity. All these characteristics make aptamers the ideal molecules to solve countless analytical problems such as health problems, for example in cancer diagnosis. Furthermore, aptamers can be engineered into sensors (also called aptasensors), actuators, and other devices. This field is progressing rapidly towards innovative and promising analytical devices, with electrochemical aptasensors being the most widely used due to their easy miniaturization and integration in microfluidic devices.
This method collection will bring together different SELEX designs to obtain aptamers against a desired protein target and how to use the obtained aptamers in the development of electrochemical aptasensors to detect the target in a sample. It is a resource for anyone interested in the design of new aptamers and the development of electrochemical aptasensors for protein biomarker detection.
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