Rational design and functional evolution of targeted peptides for bioanalytical applications

The complicated, highly dynamic and diverse nature of biosystems brings great challenges to the specific analysis of molecular processes of interest. Nature provides antibodies for the specific recognition of antigens, which is a straight-forward way for targeted analysis. However, there are still limitations during the practical applications due to the big size of the antibodies, which accelerate the discovery of small molecular probes. Peptides built from various optional building blocks and easily achieved by chemical synthetic approaches with predictable conformations, are versatile and can act as tailor-made targeting vehicles. In this mini review, we summarize the recent developments in the discovery of novel peptides for bioanalytical and biomedical applications. Progresses in peptide-library design and selection strategies are presented. Recent achievements in the peptide-guided detection, imaging and disease treatment are also focused.