Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been successfully incorporated into an immunosensor format for the simple, rapid, and nonlabeled assay of various biochemical analytes. Proteins, complex conjugates, toxins, allergens, drugs, and pesticides can be determined directly using either natural antibodies or synthetic receptors with high sensitivity and selectivity as the sensing element. Immunosensors are capable of real-time monitoring of the antigen-antibody reaction. A wide range of molecules can be detected with lower limits ranging between 10(-9) and 10(-13) mol/L. Several successful commercial developments of SPR immunosensors are available and their web pages are rich in technical information. This review highlights many recent developments in SPR-based immunoassay, functionalizations of the gold surface, novel receptors in molecular recognition, and advanced techniques for sensitivity enhancement. Furthermore, it describes the challenge of current problems and provides some insights toward the future technologies.
Copyright 2000 Academic Press.