Development of Aptamer Screening against Proteins and Its Applications

Abstract Aptamers are short single stranded DNA or RNA selected through systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), which can bind to target molecules with high affinity and high specificity. Proteins are vitally functional macromolecules. Many SELEX techniques have been developed for screening of aptamers against proteins. In recent years, in order to obtain aptamers with high affinity and specificity, many SELEX methods have been developed to enhance selection efficiency, reduce cost, and improve aptamer properties. Affinity characterization is also the key procedure in aptamer selection, which demonstrates whether the obtained aptamer could satisfy the application requirement. In this review, the progress in aptamer screening for protein targets since 2016 was summarized, and the optimization methods of nucleic acid library, improvement and development of screening methods, and application of aptamers against proteins were mainly emphasized.