The Role of Aptamers in Cancer Diagnostics and Therapy
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2020) | Viewed by 42020
Special Issue Editor
Interests: glioblastoma; lung cancer; molecular diagnostics; circulating tumor cells; tumor-derived exosomes; aptamers; proteomics; biomarkers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The ability of nucleic acid and peptide aptamers to bind to cancer biomarkers with high affinity and specificity, as well as their ease of production, has made them great candidates for their use as capture agents, imaging probes, and anticancer drugs. Aptamers offer antibodies’ functionality, but that can be easily engineered without animals, chemically synthesized, and modified with different chemical groups.
Novel aptamer technologies are gaining momentum in cancer research. Aptamer-based diagnostics can detect soluble and cell surface cancer biomarkers in a wide dynamic range and increased sensitivity. Aptamer-facilitated biomarker discovery reveals new tumor proteins. Aptamer-assisted cell imaging brings new advantages for enhanced detection of primary tumors and metastases. Aptamer-based therapeutics block the interaction of cancer-associated targets or activate the function of target receptors. Aptamers could also deliver small interfering RNAs, microRNAs, antimiRs, small molecule drugs or toxins, magnetic nanoparticles and immune cells to diseased cells and cause a therapeutic effect.
This Special Issue is aimed at summarizing both analytical developments and clinical evidence regarding the application of aptamers across the major cancer types, with a special focus on advantages and limitations of aptamer nanotechnologies.
Prof. Dr. Maxim V. Berezovski
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- aptamers
- SELEX
- in vitro evolution
- aptamer-based ELISA-like assay
- aptamer-facilitated biomarker discovery
- aptamer–drug conjugates
- aptamer-conjugated nanoparticles
- aptamer chimeras
- bifunctional aptamers
- targeted therapy
- cell and tumor imaging
- circulating tumors cells
- extracellular vesicles
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.