| Summary: | The binding specificity and affinity of aptamers have long been harnessed as the key elements in the development of aptamerbased
assays, particularly aptasensing application. One promising avenue that is currently explored based on the specificity and
affinity of aptamers is the application of aptamers in the decontamination assays. Aptamers have been successfully harnessed
as the decontamination agents to remove contaminants from the environment and to decontaminate infectious elements. The
reversible denaturation property inherent in aptamers enables the repeated usage of aptamers, which can immensely save the cost of
decontamination. Analogous to the point-of-care diagnostics, there is no doubt that aptamers can also be deployed in the point-ofcare
aptamer-based decontamination assay, whereby decontamination can be performed anywhere and anytime for instantaneous
decision-making. It is also prophesied that aptamers can also serve more than as a decontaminant, probably as a tool to capture
and kill hazardous elements, particularly pathogenic agents.
|
|---|