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Surface plasmon resonance sensing: from purified biomolecules to intact cells

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Abstract

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has become a well-recognized label-free technique for measuring the binding kinetics between biomolecules since the invention of the first SPR-based immunosensor in 1980s. The most popular and traditional format for SPR analysis is to monitor the real-time optical signals when a solution containing ligand molecules is flowing over a sensor substrate functionalized with purified receptor molecules. In recent years, rapid development of several kinds of SPR imaging techniques have allowed for mapping the dynamic distribution of local mass density within single living cells with high spatial and temporal resolutions and reliable sensitivity. Such capability immediately enabled one to investigate the interaction between important biomolecules and intact cells in a label-free, quantitative, and single cell manner, leading to an exciting new trend of cell-based SPR bioanalysis. In this Trend Article, we first describe the principle and technical features of two types of SPR imaging techniques based on prism and objective, respectively. Then we survey the intact cell-based applications in both fundamental cell biology and drug discovery. We conclude the article with comments and perspectives on the future developments.

Recent developments in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging techniques allow for label-free mapping the mass-distribution within single living cells, leading to great expansions in biomolecular interactions studies from homogeneous substrates functionalized with purified biomolecules to heterogeneous substrates containing individual living cells

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21522503), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20150013), and the Science and Technology Fund of Nanjing Medical University (2014NJMUZD018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, Jiangsu, China

    Yu-wen Su

  2. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, The Affiliated Sir Run Run Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, Jiangsu, China

    Yu-wen Su

  3. State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, Jiangsu, China

    Wei Wang

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  1. Yu-wen Su
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Correspondence to Yu-wen Su or Wei Wang.

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Su, Yw., Wang, W. Surface plasmon resonance sensing: from purified biomolecules to intact cells. Anal Bioanal Chem 410, 3943–3951 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1008-8

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