Label-enhanced surface plasmon resonance: a new concept for improved performance in optical biosensor analysis.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry
• Surface Science

Background:

• Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a key optical biosensor for molecular interactions and material science.
• Label-free SPR offers advantages by avoiding label interference but faces inherent sensitivity and specificity challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce a novel label-enhanced SPR (LE-SPR) concept to significantly improve SPR sensitivity and specificity.
• Demonstrate the efficacy of LE-SPR using small molecule and DNA hybridization assays.

Main Methods:

• Utilized strongly absorbing dye molecules in conjunction with the analysis of the complete SPR curve.
• Developed and tested LE-SPR in model assays for small molecule affinity determination and DNA hybridization specificity.

Main Results:

• LE-SPR demonstrated significant enhancements in both sensitivity and specificity compared to traditional label-free SPR.
• Model assays confirmed LE-SPR's capability for relative affinity determination and effective noise reduction from bulk variations.

Conclusions:

• Label-enhanced SPR represents a significant advancement over label-free SPR, offering superior performance.
• The method holds promise for more robust and precise molecular interaction analysis in various scientific fields.