SPR Microscopy

SPR microscopy is a label-free method for evaluating the kinetics and affinities of both small and large molecules for membrane targets in their native environment.  Like conventional SPR, SPRm monitors the change in refractive index induced by ligand binding.  

Unlike conventional SPR, which uses a homogeneous layer of purified protein immobilized on a gold surface, SPRm utilizes whole cells (live or fixed) which are grown or immobilized onto the chip surface.

The sensitivity of the Biosensing Instruments SPRm200 allows for accurate detection of binding of small molecules to membrane proteins.  Click "Learn More" below for an example of a 400 Da small molecule binding to a membrane transporter in HEK293 cells.

The application note below compares the kinetics and affinities of several different ligands to their cognate membrane protein targets in both live and fixed cells, showing that cell fixation does not significantly alter binding.

More information on SPRm technology as well as many more examples can be found on the Biosensing Instruments website.