Comparative analysis of aptamers binding to SARS-CoV-2 N protein using capillary electrophoresis and bio-layer interferometry.

Aptamers are increasingly employed in SARS-CoV-2 theragnostics in recent years. Characterization of aptamers, testing affinity and kinetic parameters (e.g., equilibrium dissociation constant (K D ), k on , and k off ), can be done by several methods and influenced by many factors. This study aims to characterize the binding of aptamers to SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein using capillary electrophoresis (CE) and bio-layer interferometry (BLI). These two analytical methods differ by how the aptamer binds to its target protein once the aptamer, as a capture ligand, is partitioned in solution (CE) or immobilized on the biosensor (BLI). With CE, the K D values of the N-binding aptamers (tNSP1, tNSP2, and tNSP3) were determined to be 18 ± 4 nM, 45 ± 11 nM, and 32 ± 7 nM, respectively, while the K D measurements by BLI yielded 4.8 ± 0.6, 4.5 ± 0.5, and 2.9 ± 0.3 nM, respectively. CE results showed a higher K D across all aptamers tested. The differences in the steric hindrance and confirmational structures of the aptamers immobilized on the BLI biosensors versus those suspended in the CE sample solution affect the molecular interactions between aptamers and the target proteins. Moreover, the buffer composition including pH and ionic strength can influence the stability of aptamer structures, or aptamer-protein complexes. All these variables affect the binding and calculated K D . In this sense, a K D value alone is not sufficient to make comparisons between aptamers; instead, the entire experimental setup should also be considered. This is particularly important when implementing aptamers in different bioanalytical systems.