Surface plasmon resonance sensor for detection of chemical and biological species in the field

Year: 2008

Assoc. Prof. Jiří Homola, Ph.D., DSc.

The need for rapid and sensitive detection of chemical and biological substances exists in numerous important sectors, including medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, food safety and security. Current analytical methods cannot meet this need as they are limited to centralized laboratories, they are laborious, time consuming and require rather complex and expensive equipment. Therefore, in the last two decades we have witnessed vast research and development activity aiming at the development of a new generation of analytical tools enabling rapid (bio)chemical analysis in the field. Researchers at the Institute of Photonic and Electronics, AS CR, v. v. i. (IPE) have developed new surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors for rapid and sensitive detection of chemical and biological analytes in the field. These sensors are based on the combination of novel sensing platforms with high sensitivity developed at IPE and special biorecognition elements (e.g. antibodies, peptides, nucleic acids) allowing recognition and detection of specific analytes. Biosensors developed at IPE have been applied to detection of analytes implicated in food safety and medical diagnostics. These analytes include potential cancer and Alzheimer disease biomarkers (ALCAM, transgelin, 17β-HSD10) and foodborne pathogens and toxins (Escherichia coli and tetrodotoxin). For instance, the SPR biosensor for detection of tetrodotoxin developed and evaluated in collaboration with the University of Washington, Seattle and U.S. Food and Drug Administration was demonstrated to be able to detect tetrodotoxin in the puffer fish matrix down to 1 ng/ml.

1. Homola, J.: Surface plasmon resonance sensors for detection of chemical and biological species, Chemical Reviews. Sv. 108, (2008), s. 462-493.
2. Homola, J., Yee, S. S., Myszka, D.: Surface plasmon biosensors, in Optical Biosensors: Today and Tomorrow, editors F. S. Ligler, C. R. Taitt, Elsevier, (2008), s. 185-242.
3. Taylor, A. D., Ladd, J., Homola, J., Jiang, S.: Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) Sensors for the Detection of Bacterial Pathogens, in Principles of Bacterial Detection: Biosensors, Recognition Receptors and Microsystems, editors M. Zourob, S. Elwary, A. Turner, Springer, (2008), s. 81-106.
4. Homola, J., Telezhnikova, O., Dostálek, J.: Způsob spektroskopie povrchových plazmonů pro senzory s povrchovými plazmony a senzorový element k provádění tohoto způsobu, Patent ČR # 299489, 2008.
5. Piliarik, M., Vala, M., Tichý, I., Homola, J.: Compact and low-cost biosensor based on novel approach to spectroscopy of surface plasmons, Biosensors & Bioelectronics, in print, doi: 10.1016/j.bios. 2008.11.003.