Chapter 4:Surface Plasmon Resonance

Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) biosensors monitor association and dissociation events between a binding partner that is immobilized on a sensor surface and the other partner injected over the surface. The SPR signal, which is related to the mass of molecules at the sensor surface, is plot as a function of time. The shape of the resulting curves depends on molecular concentrations of binding partners, kinetic on- and off-rate parameters and binding stoichiometry. Their mathematical analysis therefore allows calculating one or several of these parameters. Because of the high-information content of SPR data, the technology has numerous applications in research and biotechnology for the identification of binders and for the detailed characterization of binding. In particular, SPR is widely used in the development of therapeutic molecules, which is illustrated with antibodies and chemical compounds.