Molecular Imaging with Nucleic Acid Aptamers
With many desirable properties such as ease of synthesis, small size, lack of immunogenicity, and versatile chemistry, aptamers represent a class of targeting ligands that possess tremendous potential in molecular imaging applications. Non-invasive imaging of various disease markers
with aptamer-based probes has many potential clinical applications such as lesion detection, patient stratification, treatment monitoring, etc. In this review, we will summarize the current status of molecular imaging with aptamer-based probes. First, fluorescence imaging will be described
which include both direct targeting and activatable probes. Next, we discuss molecular magnetic resonance imaging and targeted ultrasound investigations using aptamer-based agents. Radionuclide-based imaging techniques (singlephoton emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography)
will be summarized as well. In addition, aptamers have also been labeled with various tags for computed tomography, surface plasmon resonance, dark-field light scattering microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy imaging. Among all molecular imaging
modalities, no single modality is perfect and sufficient to obtain all the necessary information for a particular question. Thus, a multimodality probe has also been constructed for concurrent fluorescence, gamma camera, and magnetic resonance imaging in vivo. Although the future of aptamer-based
molecular imaging is becoming increasingly bright and many proof-of-principle studies have already been reported, much future effort needs to be directed towards the development of clinically translatable aptamer-based imaging agents which will eventually benefit patients.
Keywords: Aptamers; DNA/RNA; cancer; fluorescence; molecular imaging; personalized medicine; positron emission tomography
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 September 2011
- Current Medicinal Chemistry covers all the latest and outstanding developments in medicinal chemistry and rational drug design. Each issue contains a series of timely in-depth reviews written by leaders in the field covering a range of the current topics in medicinal chemistry. Current Medicinal Chemistry is an essential journal for every medicinal chemist who wishes to be kept informed and up-to-date with the latest and most important developments.
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Subscribe to this Title
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content