Microfluidic approaches to rapid and efficient aptamer selection

With their advantages as molecular recognition elements, aptamers have been extensively studied and used for bioanalytical and biomedical applications. However, the process of enrichment and screening of aptamers remains a bottleneck for aptamer development. Recently, microfluidic methods have been increasingly used for rapid and efficient aptamer selection, showing their remarkable advantages over conventional methods. This review briefly introduces aptamers and their advantages. The conventional process of generating aptamers is discussed, followed by the analysis of the key obstacles to efficient aptamer selection. Microfluidic methods for highly efficient enrichment and screening of aptamers are reviewed in detail. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.