Description
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is the reminiscent oscillation of electrons conductions stimulated by incident light at the interface between negative and positive material. Through SPR the binding of the molecules can be measured in real-time without the use of any labels.
Surface Plasmon Resonance is used to observe the change in refractive index at any surface. SPR occurs when the total internal reflection of polarized light takes place at a metal film. SPR instruments are generally used to measure affinity and the binding kinetics of the molecular interactions. SPR can be used to measure the binding between a protein and an antibody or in between two proteins or in between DNA and a protein and many more.
The technique of SPR is Unique:
The technique of SPR is unique because it is among one of the few techniques which allow the determination of binding kinetics, not just binding affinity which is commonly observed in traditional techniques like ELISA. The determination of binding kinetics is only through a biosensing technique that provides the real-time data of both the association and dissociation phases of the interaction. This data provides insights of both the binding stability and stability of the interaction in detail. Such insights are very critical for many industries and research areas as they help researchers to determine the molecules which are interacting also why are they interacting and how strongly do they interact.
Advantages of SPR:
There are several advantages to SPR. Some of them include:
- SPR is Label-free that means it is less expensive and easier to perform as compared to other common assay techniques.
- SPR is easily available in small sample volumes.
- SPR is highly sensitive which means it can be used for small molecules to large proteins.
- SPR provides for Real-Time readings hence giving a deeper insight into the binding kinetics as compared to other affinity techniques.
- SPR is quantitative.
Applications of SPR:
The SPR data is critical in many industries and has been in use for over 25 years by companies like GSK, Roche and Pfizer and by many universities throughout the world. Some examples of applications include:
- Developing and screening new biotherapeutics and new pharmaceuticals
- Quality control in the monitoring of the bioprocess
- Development of new diagnostic assays
- In basic research like characterizing and discovering protein function, disease mechanisms etc.
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