1 Modelling and development of electrical aptasensors , 2 a short review 3

Selected by in vitro techniques (SELEX, cell-SELEX), aptamers are strands of DNA or RNA 13 molecules able to bind a wide range of targets, from small molecules to live cells, and even tissues, 14 with high affinity and specificity. Due to their efficient targeting ability, aptamers are extensively 15 used in different fields of applications. For example, they ensure high performance as cancer-related 16 markers or in recognizing cancer cells. Actually, they represent a promising way for early diagnosis 17 (biosensors) and to deliver imaging agents and drugs, in both cancer imaging and therapy 18 (therapeutic aptamers). Aptamer-based biosensors (aptasensors) have attracted particular attention 19 over the last decades, so as the possibility of using aptamers in disease therapy in substitution of 20 monoclonal antibodies. The paper briefly reviews the most recent literature on this topic, both 21 concerning the advances in biomedical applications and in the development of electrical 22 aptasensors. The investigation concerning the bioelectronics features of aptamers, to be 23 implemented in the development of electrical nanobiosensors, is also reviewed. To this aim, some 24 recent results of a theoretical/computational framework for modelling the electrical properties of 25 biomolecules (Proteotronics) are reported. 26