Biomaterial Database

Selecting nucleic acids for biosensor applications. 2002

Manjula Rajendran, and Andrew D Ellington

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.

In vitro selection can be used to generate nucleic acid binding species (aptamers) and catalysts (ribozymes) that can recognize a variety of molecules. Because nucleic acid function is largely derived from readily tabulated secondary structures, it has proven possible to engineer aptamers and ribozymes to function as biosensors. Labeling nucleic acids with reporter molecules has yielded simple antibody substitutes, but by relying on ligand-dependent conformational changes it has also proven possible to generate biosensors that can recognize and specifically report the presence of ligands in homogenous solution. It may prove possible to generate signaling aptamers and allosteric ribozymes (aptazymes) that are responsive to a large fraction of an organismal proteome or metabolome using automated methods. Nucleic acid biosensor arrays for non-nucleic acid targets could likely be generated with the same facility as DNA chips.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007202	Indicators and Reagents	Substances used for the detection, identification, analysis, etc. of chemical, biological, or pathologic processes or conditions. Indicators are substances that change in physical appearance, e.g., color, at or approaching the endpoint of a chemical titration, e.g., on the passage between acidity and alkalinity. Reagents are substances used for the detection or determination of another substance by chemical or microscopical means, especially analysis. Types of reagents are precipitants, solvents, oxidizers, reducers, fluxes, and colorimetric reagents. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed, p301, p499)	Indicator,Reagent,Reagents,Indicators,Reagents and Indicators
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D009696	Nucleic Acids	High molecular weight polymers containing a mixture of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides chained together by ribose or deoxyribose linkages.	Nucleic Acid,Acid, Nucleic,Acids, Nucleic
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001483	Base Sequence	The sequence of PURINES and PYRIMIDINES in nucleic acids and polynucleotides. It is also called nucleotide sequence.	DNA Sequence,Nucleotide Sequence,RNA Sequence,DNA Sequences,Base Sequences,Nucleotide Sequences,RNA Sequences,Sequence, Base,Sequence, DNA,Sequence, Nucleotide,Sequence, RNA,Sequences, Base,Sequences, DNA,Sequences, Nucleotide,Sequences, RNA
D012689	Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid	The sequential correspondence of nucleotides in one nucleic acid molecule with those of another nucleic acid molecule. Sequence homology is an indication of the genetic relatedness of different organisms and gene function.	Base Sequence Homology,Homologous Sequences, Nucleic Acid,Homologs, Nucleic Acid Sequence,Homology, Base Sequence,Homology, Nucleic Acid Sequence,Nucleic Acid Sequence Homologs,Nucleic Acid Sequence Homology,Sequence Homology, Base,Base Sequence Homologies,Homologies, Base Sequence,Sequence Homologies, Base
D015374	Biosensing Techniques	Any of a variety of procedures which use biomolecular probes to measure the presence or concentration of biological molecules, biological structures, microorganisms, etc., by translating a biochemical interaction at the probe surface into a quantifiable physical signal.	Bioprobes,Biosensors,Electrodes, Enzyme,Biosensing Technics,Bioprobe,Biosensing Technic,Biosensing Technique,Biosensor,Electrode, Enzyme,Enzyme Electrode,Enzyme Electrodes,Technic, Biosensing,Technics, Biosensing,Technique, Biosensing,Techniques, Biosensing