Evolve HNA aptamers by Cell-SELEX as molecular tools for cancer study.

Aptamers are single-stranded DNA and RNA molecules. They can bind to diverse molecular targets with high affinity and specificity by folding unique three dimensional structures. Therefore, aptamers are useful tools for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. However, aptamers made of DNA and RNA are endowed with low biostability and poor pharmacodynamices, limiting their use for clinical development. In this study, we propose to develop a general strategy for generating cancer cell-targeting aptamers consisting of artificial nucleic acids. Such aptamers should be able to recognize molecular signatures presented on the cancer cell surface, thus they are powerful molecular tools for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Providing their highly cell-targeting specificity, robust biostability and low toxicity, such aptamers should be of value for in vivo use and clinical development.