Interaction between viruses and monoclonal antibodies studied by surface plasmon resonance

An automated biosensor system designed for measuring molecular interactions in real time and without any labelling of the reactants has been used to study the interaction of two animal viruses (vaccinia virus and poliovirus) and two plant viruses (cowpea mosaic virus and tobacco mosaic virus) with monoclonal antibodies. Using monoclonal antibodies specific for different conformational states of viral protein, it was found that the virus particles retained their conformational integrity when immobilized on the dextran matrix present on the sensor chip. Compared to conventional solid phase immunoassays, in which immobilized proteins are usually partly denatured, the biosensor system presents several advantages for studying virus-antibody interaction.