Electrochemical aptasensors for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma-related biomarkers

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most dangerous malignant tumors worldwide, poses a huge threat to human life. The development of a tangible method for the early diagnosis of this disease remains a major challenge. The ability to accurately detect HCC-related biomarkers is beneficial for the early diagnosis and successful treatment of HCC. As nucleic acid ligands, aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides obtained by in vitro screening with high affinity and specificity for binding targets. Electrochemical aptamer-based biosensors (aptasensors) have attracted much attention in detecting HCC-related biomarkers based on the specificity of aptamer–target recognition. In addition, electrochemical aptasensors have been extensively considered in biomarker detection due to their high stability, high sensitivity, cost-effectiveness, and simplicity of fabrication. This review aims to introduce some representative studies and summarize the latest developments in the field of electrochemical aptasensors for the detection of HCC-related biomarkers in HCC diagnosis, including HCC cells, proteins, cell-derived exosomes, and nucleic acid. The current challenges and promising opportunities in the establishment of electrochemical aptasensors for HCC-related biomarker detection are also discussed.