Lateral flow assays using aptamers

Aptamers, which are short single-stranded nucleic acids or peptides, have become versatile recognition elements as a result of their high specificity, stability, and cost-effectiveness. This chapter offers a thorough examination of aptamer-based lateral flow assays (LFA), with a particular emphasis on their principles, design strategies, and implications for environmental monitoring, food safety, and medical diagnostics. Aptamer-based systems provide superior chemical stability, an extended shelf life, and the ability to undergo a variety of modifications, in contrast to traditional antibody-based LFAs. This chapter also emphasizes the most recent developments in hybrid approaches that integrate aptamers with other biorecognition elements, signal amplification techniques, and aptamer selection methods. The novel concepts described in this chapter have the potential to facilitate the development of diagnostic instruments that are more cost-effective, portable, and efficient, and that have a broad range of applications in biosensor technology. © 2026 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved..