• Aptamer-based Diagnostics for Cardiac Troponin
  • Mohammad Reza Mardani,1 Arastoo Vojdan,2 Arash Gholoobi,3 Aida Gholoobi,4,*
    1. Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
    2. Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
    3. Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
    4. Medical Genetics Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.


  • Introduction: One of the leading causes of mortality worldwide is myocardial infarction (MI) which occurs due to a decrease in the blood supply to the heart, causing the expiration of myocardial tissue. The diagnosis of MI relies on the detecting of some cardiac protein biomarkers. A possible biomarker for the early detection of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is cardiac troponin I (cTnI). Aptamers are well-known receptors that contain specific nucleotide sequences and have a high affinity for binding to a particular cell of interest. The employment of aptamers as a means for detecting cardiac markers, such as troponin, can be considered as an alternative to conventional techniques like liquid chromatography, chemiluminescence, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This brief review aims to look at aptamer-based cardiac troponin assays.
  • Methods: In the present review, we collected and analyzed articles found on the PubMed and Google Scholar databases using the Aptamer, Cardiac Troponin I, Myocardial Infarction, and Bioreceptors keywords.
  • Results: The results from various studies revealed that aptamer-based approaches to detecting cTnI are aptamer-based surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) and electrochemical aptamer-based biosensors. Aptasensor could be proper alternatives to conventional methods, though it was only recently that they were able to attract the attention of medical and diagnostic researchers. Furthermore, recent efforts in the field of aptamers have led to the development and expansion of aptamer-based diagnostic methods for cardiac biomarkers.
  • Conclusion: A critical challenge in controlling the high rates of MIs on a global scale is to find a quick way to predict the risk of heart attacks. Furthermore, conventional methods are extremely costly and do not exhibit a high detection speed and are extremely costly. On the other hand, aptamer-based methods are suitable alternatives due to their low cost, rapid detection, and high specificity in cTnI diagnosis. According to the results of this review, it seems that aptamers will likely to replace antibodies in the point-of-care system shortly.
  • Keywords: Aptamer, Bioreceptors, Cardiac Troponin I, Myocardial Infarction.