The RNA interference (RNAi) era, started by Fire and Mello in 1998 completely changed the vision of research involving cell control and therapeutic intervention. RNAi machinery starts from a long dsRNA and pre-microRNA (pre-miRNA) that is cleaved by the ‘Dicer’ enzyme in a short dsRNA fragments called small interfering RNA (siRNA) and miRNA, respectively. This, […]
The blood brain barrier (BBB) is a highly specialized network of blood vessels that effectively separates the brain environment from the circulatory system. Delivering drugs into the brain environment has historically been a challenge. This is due to the nature of the BBB anatomy, as it is composed of polarized endothelial cells that are connected […]
The major challenges of cancer research include finding ways to maximize the tolerated dose of chemotherapeutic drug given and balancing this with an acceptable toxicity profile. One promising approach is to transport drugs to their specific target destinations by increasing the selectivity to cancerous cells. This in turn, can shield the drugs from elimination and […]
The goal of personalized medicine is to precisely tailor treatment to the individual. To this end, the ability to measure drugs in the body rapidly and in real time would hold the promise to revolutionalise healthcare by delivering the right drug, at the right dose, and at the right time. The development of such technologies […]
The current wave of COVID-19 infections around the globe has resulted from a novel coronavirus employing its spike glycoprotein to bind with the protein binding sites of the host cells. These virus particles have the notorious tendency to proteolytically generate mutated biologically active fragments involved in signal transduction pathway resulting in the proliferation and transmission […]
30th April 2019
Following the successful awarding of a CRUK Biotherapeutic Drug Discovery Project Award, Aptamer Therapeutics Limited, part of Aptamer Group, is pleased to announce a new collaboration with Dan Wiseman and the Oglesby Leukaemia Research Programme at the University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK. The project will explore the potential of aptamers as […]
10th May 2017
AptaBasics: ‘What is an Aptamer’?
An aptamer is a sequence of single strand nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) with a variable region of about 40 nucleotide bases. This variable sequence confers each aptamer with a unique 3 dimensional structure and potential ligand binding capability. These factors make aptamers high affinity and specific binding molecules, […]
