Aptamers have proven to be quintessential in basic research, food safety, and monitoring the environment

 

Aptamers have many applications in the medical field. It is useful in detecting, regulating, and controlling the function of cells and organisms. They can be used for gene therapy, targeted evolution and transcriptional regulation, life sciences, neuroscience, and even drug design and development. Aptamers can be activated by appropriate signals. They are naturally present in most living systems. They are proteins that have been discovered to regulate the gene expression of genes in response to specific stimuli. Gene therapy applications of aptamers and related technologies are on the rise. Recent studies have revealed that aptamers can serve as a genetic drug delivery system to treat serious diseases like leukemia and cancer.

There are several types of aptamers. There are protein complexes. These complexes are assembled from a series of amino acid residues which are each encoded by a regulatory region of transcription. The complexes are then translated into transcripts. In the case of a regulated transcription, the transcripts control the production and activity of the regulatory region. Aptamers can also be used to promote the growth and health of tissues and organs. Their applications in transplants and tissue engineering are gaining increasing attention. Some aptamers, however, are involved in the manufacture of hormones, insulin, and other medications. In some cases, they are used in wound healing, to control pain, and to promote lung development.

Pharmaceutical engineers are discovering a wide range of applications of aptamers. They are achieving successes in the fields of tissue repair, tissue manufacturing, and drug formation. They are finding aptamers that could replace complex intermediates in many biological processes. They are finding aptamers that could replace the role of enzymes in chemical reaction networks. They are mapping the workings of aptamers in the nervous system, the retina, and the gastrointestinal tract. They are mapping the workings of aptamers in the cardiovascular system, the immune system, the brain, and the bile ducts.