ABSTRACT

The long-range orientational order of liquid crystals (LCs) makes them excellent responsive materials for amplification and transduction of various biochemical events occurring at their interfaces. LC interfaces have been vastly explored for sensing of various macromolecules such as endotoxin, proteins, and disease markers. LC-based sensors possess several advantages over conventional methods in terms of not requiring intensive labour, label-free detection, and low-cost fabrication. However, the first challenge is to ensure the specificity of LC response towards a particular analyte. The second challenge is to design sensing platforms for the detection of small molecule analytes with equal selectivity and sensitivity. In this regard, aptamers have emerged as promising recognition probes due to their high binding affinity towards small molecules, high stability over antibodies, and fast response. The integration of aptamer-based sensing with LC interfaces has enabled the detection of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) targets, biologically important toxins, environmental pollutants, heavy metal ions, etc., with applicability in clinical samples. In this review, we recapitulate the recent advancements in the design of aptamer-based LC biosensors for the detection of DNA targets (by DNA hybridization), various biomolecules, and metal ions.

摘要

液晶 (LC) 的长程取向顺序使其成为优秀的响应材料，用于放大和转导在其界面发生的各种生化事件。LC 接口已被广泛探索用于检测各种大分子，例如内毒素、蛋白质和疾病标志物。与传统方法相比，基于 LC 的传感器在不需要大量劳动、无标记检测和低成本制造方面具有若干优势。然而，第一个挑战是确保 LC 响应对特定分析物的特异性。第二个挑战是设计用于检测具有相同选择性和灵敏度的小分子分析物的传感平台。在这方面，适体因其对小分子的高结合亲和力而成为有前途的识别探针，对抗体的稳定性高，反应快。基于适配体的传感与 LC 接口的集成使得能够检测脱氧核糖核酸 (DNA) 靶标、生物学上重要的毒素、环境污染物、重金属离子等，并适用于临床样品。在这篇综述中，我们概述了基于适配体的 LC 生物传感器设计的最新进展，用于检测 DNA 靶标（通过 DNA 杂交）、各种生物分子和金属离子。