DOI

Aptamers are nucleic acid analogues of antibodies with high affinity to different targets, such as cells, viruses, proteins, inorganic materials, and coenzymes. Empirical approaches allow the design of in vitro aptamers that bind particularly to a target molecule with high affinity and selectivity. Theoretical methods allow significant expansion of the possibilities of aptamer design. In this study, we review theoretical and joint theoretical-experimental studies dedicated to aptamer design and modeling. We consider aptamers with different targets, such as proteins, antibiotics, organophosphates, nucleobases, amino acids, and drugs. During nucleic acid modeling and in silico design, a full set of in silico methods can be applied, such as docking, molecular dynamics (MD), and statistical analysis. The typical modeling workflow starts with structure prediction. Then, docking of target and aptamer is performed. Next, MD simulations are performed, which allows for an evaluation of the stability of aptamer/ligand complexes and determination of the binding energies with higher accuracy. Then, aptamer/ligand interactions are analyzed, and mutations of studied aptamers made. Subsequently, the whole procedure of molecular modeling can be reiterated. Thus, the interactions between aptamers and their ligands are complex and difficult to understand using only experimental approaches. Docking and MD are irreplaceable when aptamers are studied in silico.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8420
Pages (from-to)1-25
Number of pages25
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume21
Issue number22
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 Nov 2020

    Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Spectroscopy
  • Catalysis
  • Inorganic Chemistry
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry

    Research areas

  • Aptamers, Docking, In silico design, Molecular dynamics, Molecular modeling, PROTEIN DOCKING, VITRO SELECTION, MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS, LIGAND-BINDING, DNA-APTAMER, HIGH-THROUGHPUT, SIDE-CHAIN, molecular dynamics, docking, molecular modeling, in silico design, FORCE-FIELD, RNA APTAMER, aptamers, WEB SERVER

ID: 70656353