Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensing Applications

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensing exploits collective oscillations of electrons at a metal–dielectric interface to monitor minute changes in refractive index. By coupling light into thin noble metal films or nanostructures, SPR platforms detect biomolecular interactions in real time and without labels. Advances in sensor design—ranging from prism‐ and waveguide‐coupled configurations to nanostructured and fibre‐based formats—have yielded devices capable of quantifying proteins, nucleic acids, small molecules and whole pathogens at femtomolar to picomolar levels. Incorporation of nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles, graphene derivatives and molybdenum disulfide films enhances local field strength and amplifies signal responses, improving limits of detection and assay speed. Customised surface chemistries and receptor immobilisation strategies ensure high specificity, enabling applications in drug discovery, clinical diagnostics, environmental monitoring and food safety. Modern platforms also integrate microfluidics for multiplexed assays, and combine SPR with complementary optical methods such as surface‐enhanced Raman scattering. Collectively, these innovations underscore the global significance of SPR biosensing for rapid, quantitative and point‐of‐care analyses across biological and chemical sciences.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated ultra-sensitive detection of viral proteins using nanoparticle-enhanced SPR. Exceptionally large gold nanoparticles, with diameters of several hundred nanometres, were employed to amplify the plasmonic response and achieve a limit of detection of 85 femtomolar for a key viral nucleocapsid protein. This unrivalled sensitivity arises from strong coupling between large nanoparticles and the metal film, resulting in pronounced shifts in resonance angle. The work highlights the potential of tailored nanoparticle morphologies to address urgent needs in pathogen diagnostics and sets a new benchmark for SPR‐based viral assays.

Research from all publishers

Green synthesis approaches have recently been applied to create silver/reduced graphene oxide (Ag/rGO) composite films for LSPR‐enhanced SPR biosensors. Incorporation of rGO into prism‐coupled gold–silver layers induced shifts in resonance angle up to 0.96°, compared with 0.33° for bare silver, indicating optimised plasmonic coupling and improved sensitivity to biomolecular binding. The method promises eco-friendly fabrication of high‐performance sensor chips for clinical and environmental targets.

Aptamer‐based SPR biosensors have emerged as a versatile strategy for label-free detection of small molecules, proteins and ions. By immobilising synthetic oligonucleotide receptors on gold sensors, researchers have achieved real‐time monitoring of target binding with low nanomolar sensitivity. Innovations include signal‐amplification schemes using nanomaterial tags, microfluidic integration for multiplex assays and tuning of surface chemistry to suppress non-specific adsorption, thereby enhancing assay robustness in complex sample matrices.

Graphene-based SPR and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) platforms have been extensively reviewed, revealing that monolayer and few-layer graphene films serve both as high-affinity binding surfaces and as tunable plasmonic enhancers. Simulations and experiments across prism, grating and nanoparticle excitations confirm that graphene integration increases sensitivity and broadens detection modalities. Future prospects include hybrid devices combining SPR, SERS and electrochemical transduction for comprehensive biomolecular analysis.

Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensing Applications publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in surface plasmon resonance biosensing applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR): Optical phenomenon in which incident light excites electron oscillations at a metal–dielectric interface, sensitive to refractive index changes.

Localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR): Resonant oscillation of conduction electrons confined to metallic nanoparticles or nanostructures.

Kretschmann configuration: Method of exciting SPR by directing light through a prism onto a thin metal film at an angle above the critical angle.

Refractive index unit (RIU): Unit measuring the change in refractive index detected by an SPR sensor.

Affinity constant (K_A): Quantitative measure of binding strength between receptor and target molecule.

Aptamer: Short single-stranded oligonucleotide that folds into a three-dimensional shape to bind targets with high specificity.

Nanocomposite: Material comprising nanoparticles dispersed within a continuous matrix to combine unique optical and chemical properties.

Figure of merit (FOM): Ratio of sensor sensitivity to resonance linewidth, indicating overall performance of an SPR device.

References

1. Localized surface plasmon resonance properties of green synthesized Ag/rGO composite nanoparticles utilizing Amaranthus viridis extract for biosensor applications. Journal of Science Advanced Materials and Devices (2024).
2. Ultrasensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein using large gold nanoparticle-enhanced surface plasmon resonance. Scientific Reports (2022).
3. Recent Advancements in Aptamer-Based Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensing Strategies. Biosensors (2021).
4. A Review of Graphene-Based Surface Plasmon Resonance and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Biosensors: Current Status and Future Prospects. Nanomaterials (2021).
5. High-Sensitivity Detection of the Lung Cancer Biomarker CYFRA21-1 in Serum Samples Using a Carboxyl-MoS2 Functional Film for SPR-Based Immunosensors. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (2020).