Table 1. Antibody, Aptamer, and Sugar Costs vs Benefits vs Risks Analysis.

primary biomolecule	commercial cost ($)	benefits	risks
monoclonal IgG	100–6000a	• high selectivity	• high costs
			• high pH and T sensitivity
DNA aptamer	1–2 for each single baseb	• good selectivity	• high costs
		• possibility of engineering	• time and labor consuming
RNA aptamer	10–90 for each single baseb	• good selectivity	• high costs
		• possibility of engineering	• time and labor consuming
sugar	1–20c	• low costs	• low selectivity
			• modification needed

^aCommercial costs/mg, from the Thermo Scientific product catalog.

^bCommercial costs/base, from the IBA product catalog (1 μmol solution).

^cCommercial costs/mg, from the Sigma–Aldrich product catalog.