Recent advancements in surface plasmon resonance immunosensors for detection of small molecules of biomedical, food and environmental interest

Interest in the development of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based immunosensors for detection and monitoring of low-molecular-weight analytes of biomedical, food and environmental fields has been rapidly increasing over the last 10 years. By combining the advantages of the specific antigen–antibody immunoreaction and the high sensitivity and reliability of SPR signal transduction, SPR immunoassays offer exceptional performance capabilities with respect to sensitivity, specificity, speed and multianalyte detection in complex analytical matrices. Advancements in the technology of antibody production and the signal transduction provide a promising scope for SPR immunosensors to lead in the next generation biosensors. This review highlights the current state-of-the-art in SPR immunosensors and outlines briefly the important issues with regard to the development of SPR immmunosensors, such as preparation of the biomolecules, sensor fabrication, non-specific adsorption, surface regeneration and detection principles. Particular emphasis is given to the indirect competitive immunoassay principle which is compatible and highly promising for detection of small analytes with enhanced sensitivity. In addition, recent advancements and trends in the application of SPR immunosensors in biomedical, environmental and food-related analyses are discussed.