| Affiliation: | (1) Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, P.O. Box 190, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, China;(2) State Key Laboratory for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province and Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China;(3) State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China;(4) Center for Research at Bio/nano Interface, Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, Shands Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7200, USA; |
| Abstract: | Hydrogels are water-retainable materials, made from cross-linked polymers, that can be tailored to applications in bioanalysis and biomedicine. As technology advances, an increasing number of molecules have been used as the components of hydrogel systems. However, the shortcomings of these systems have prompted researchers to find new materials that can be incorporated into them. Among all of these emerging materials, aptamers have recently attracted substantial attention because of their unique properties, for example biocompatibility, selective binding, and molecular recognition, all of which make them promising candidates for target-responsive hydrogel engineering. In this work, we will review how aptamers have been incorporated into hydrogel systems to enable colorimetric detection, controlled drug release, and targeted cancer therapy. |
