Rational Approach to Optimizing Conformation-Switching Aptamers for Biosensing Applications.

The utilization of structure-switching aptamers (SSAs) has enabled the development of novel sensing platforms for the sensitive and continuous detection of molecules. development of SSAs, however, is complex and laborious. Here we describe a rational approach to SSA optimization that simultaneously improves aptamer binding affinity and introduces target-dependent conformation-switching for compatibility with real-world biosensor applications.