Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors are being developed to detect and characterize interactions between biomolecules in their physiological environments with sensitivity and selectivity comparable to fluorescent biosensors, and in real time at time resolutions approaching or less than milliseconds.
Intellectual Merit: SPR biosensors have rapidly emerged as technology of choice because they follow biological interactions in physiological environments in real time. Existing SPR biosensors do not operate at their limits of sensitivity, due to technical noise and not to any fundamental limitations. Active electronic noise suppression techniques integrated with sensor configurations are developed to operate at the fundamental limits of system noise. The sensitivity and selectivity are improved by using nano- and mesoporous inorganic structured materials. Nanoporous supports provide high surface areas for increased attachment density of receptors. The surface energy and pore sizes (shapes) can be manipulated to provide physical selection of target substances by size, shape and morphology, and provide a robust platform in harsh environments.
Broader Impacts: The approach proposed is highly amenable to widespread technological use, due to its sensitivity, stability, and simplicity. A SPR sensor with increased sensitivity and selectivity will allow, in addition to kinetic measurements in the aqueous phase, the detection of highly diluted pathogens in the gas phase. It could be used to map biochemical pathways that lead to disease states, monitor patients for clinically relevant analytes, target the development of drugs, and detect infectious agents and environmental toxins.
