摘要
Molecular imaging has greatly advanced basic biology and translational medicine through visualization and quantification of single/multiple molecular events temporally and spatially in a cellular context and in living organisms.Aptamers,short single-stranded nucleic acids selected in vitro to bind a broad range of target molecules avidly and specifically,are ideal molecular recognition elements for probe development in molecular imaging.This review summarizes the current state of aptamer-based biosensor development(probe design and imaging modalities)and their application in imaging small molecules,nucleic acids and proteins mostly in a cellular context with some animal studies.The article is concluded with a brief discussion on the perspective of aptamer-based molecular imaging.
