Diagnosis applications of new hepatoma carcinoma cell aptamers in vitro

Abstract

In this study, we used the “cell-SELEX” strategy to generate four new aptamers with high binding affinity for Huh7.5.1. and HepG2 cells, as indicated by K_d values in the low nanomolar range, as well as high specificity compared to L-02 normal human liver cells. Moreover, the aptamers could distinguish human liver tumour tissues from normal tissues. Incorporation of the aptamer into probes permitted activation by target liver cancer cells to yield enhanced fluorescence and the detection of 10³ orders of target liver cancer cells. The newly generated aptamers have great potential in early cancer diagnosis.