Fen He, Nachuan Wen, Daipeng Xiao, Jianhua Yan, Hongjie Xiong, Shundong Cai, Zhenbao Liu* and Yanfei Liu* Pages 2189 - 2219 ( 31 )
Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA with 20-100 nucleotides in length that can specifically bind to target molecules via formed three-dimensional structures. These innovative targeting molecules have attracted an increasing interest in the biomedical field. Compared to traditional protein antibodies, aptamers have several advantages, such as small size, high binding affinity, specificity, good biocompatibility, high stability and low immunogenicity, which all contribute to their wide application in the biomedical field. Aptamers can bind to the receptors on the cell membrane and mediate themselves or conjugated nanoparticles to enter into cells. Therefore, aptamers can be served as ideal targeting ligands for drug delivery. Since their excellent properties, different aptamer-mediated drug delivery systems had been developed for cancer therapy. This review provides a brief overview of recent advances in drug delivery systems based on aptamers. The advantages, challenges and future prospectives are also discussed.
Aptamer, cancer target therapy, drug delivery system, nanomaterials, drug carrier, nano-medicine.
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410013, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083