Functional Nucleic Acids as Bacterial Biosensors: A Focus on Clostridioides difficile Infection

Abstract Clostridioides difficile (CD) is a Gram‐positive, anaerobic, and spore‐forming bacillus that colonizes the human gut and causes a range of diseases, such as pseudomembranous colitis and antibiotic‐associated diarrhea, that are generally known as CD infection (CDI). Rapid and accurate detection of CDI with high sensitivity and specificity is crucial for patient treatment, infection control, and epidemiological monitoring. Current …