Aptamer-Based Biosensor Design for Simultaneous Detection of Cervical Cancer-Related MicroRNAs

Cervical cancer remains a significant global health burden, necessitating the development of novel diagnostic tools for early detection and personalized therapeutic interventions.

This study presents the design of an innovative aptamer-based biosensor for the detection of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) associated with cervical cancer development. The selected panel includes 20 miRNAs known to play vital roles in cervical cancer pathogenesis, regulating processes such as cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, apoptosis, inflammatory responses, and metastasis.

The biosensor design relies on the unique binding properties of aptamers, single-stranded nucleic acids with high specificity for miRNA targets. All aptamers, corresponding to the miRNA panel were designed with the help of the web-based software tool NHLBI-AbDesigner. The RNA Folding Form from the Mfold Web Server was used for modeling, displaying, and analyzing the structure of designed aptamers.

The biosensor's design can be optimized to ensure high sensitivity, low limits of detection, and robust performance in clinical settings. This novel biosensor design holds great promise for facilitating non-invasive detection and personalized therapeutic approaches for cervical cancer patients.

Acknowledgments: This work has been financed by the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization through Program 1 - Development of the national research and development system, Subprogram 1.2 - Institutional performance - Projects for financing excellence in R&D, Contract no. 19PFE/2021