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Analyzing the binding affinity of aptamer quantum dot conjugates to VEGF

Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides which fold into a three-dimensional structure allowing the specific recognition of a molecular target. Therefore, they might be an alternative to antibodies as detection molecules in biosensors. Aptamers are well suited for this application since they can be directed against almost every molecular target, and show high binding affinities to their corresponding binding partner. Aptamers with a terminal amino-group can be coupled to organic or inorganic fluorophores via amide bonds to enable their optical detection. In this study Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-binding aptamers were conjugated with quantum dot molecules. This immobilization may inhibit the correct aptamer folding and consequently lead to a declined target-binding activity. Therefore, MST technology was used to determine whether quantum dot conjugation affects the VEGF-binding affinity of aptamers.

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