Surface plasmon resonance(SPR) infra-red sensor for bio-molecular binding interaction detection and cell apoptosis studies

Abstract

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is phenomenon, where a change of refractive index at the sensing surface results in a shift of optical reflection characteristics at the metal–dielectric interface, utilized as an optical sensing technique with many applications in various disciplinary fields. A SPR Sensor with the resolution of ) 9.37 x 10 -6 RIU was developed. This is comparable to theoretical predictions in the range of 10-5 RIU. Detection of Bio-Molecular Interactions such as the binding of antigen and antibody is possible using this SPR Sensor (BioSensor); it will be helpful in the study of the apoptosis process. Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death (PCD) that may occur in multi-cellular organisms. Programmed cell death involves a series of biochemical events leading to a characteristic cell morphology and death. It can provide benefit or harm to the organism and is a very interesting and much studied process however one of the less understood part is the release mechanism of Cytochrome C (a part of the apoptosis process). This project hopes to aid in the study of this apoptosis process by detecting the ending stage of cells undergoing apoptosis. Keywords: Surface Plasmon Resonance, BioSensor, Apoptosis