Nanostructured Polymer-Containing Composites as an Efficient Tool for Molecular Diagnostic

The review considers the role that nanotechnologies play in the development of sample preparation methods for molecular diagnostic, focusing on the methods to isolate nucleic acids (NAs) from biological samples and the underlying physicochemical processes. Methods based on reversible adsorption (that is, solid-phase selective extraction) are the most efficient and allow miniaturization and automatization of the related processes. In the approach most commonly used until recently, NAs from biological samples are bound with a sorbent and then eluted (positive selection). The review analyzes the potential and advantages of an alternative one-step NA isolation method. Sorbents utilized in the method bind proteins and other components of biological samples, but are inert towards NAs in terms of absorption (negative selection). Consideration is given to the methods used to produce nanostructured composite sorbents on the basis of solid matrices (porous silica, glass multicapillaries, and synthetic membranes) via modification with nano-thick polymer layers to achieve negative selection toward NAs. Primary attention is payed to fluoropolymers and polyanilines, their applications, and fields of their alternative use.