Blog Posts
A mix of information including how to improve experiments and some interesting ways SPR has been used.
Select Insight Type:
Reichert Sensor Chip Buyer's Guide
A critical component when doing a Surface Plasmon Resonance experiment is to choose the proper sensor chip. Included below is a description of seven common sensor chip types.
Apr 3, 2017
SPR Advantages When Studying Biomolecular Interactions Compared to Other Techniques
Biolayer Interferometry (BLI), Isothermal Calorimetry (ITC), Microscale Thermophoresis (MST) and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) can all be used to study biomolecular interactions.
Mar 22, 2017
SPR Sheds Light on White Cell Binding, Inflammation Initiation
While many of the stages of the cell-mediated immune response are known, the mechanisms by which various white blood cells can specifically bind (and release) to initiation proteins is not as well known. Some of the challenges in understanding are due to the short time period of this binding and initiation, as well as the short lengths of proteins involved in the process, which can make it difficult to detect the non-polar and polar domains involved in specific binding.
Jan 5, 2017
The History of SPR in Insulin Detection
As of 2014, roughly 29 million Americans had been diagnosed with Type II diabetes. The condition affects approximately 1 out of every 10 individuals over the age of twenty. Frequent insulin testing, either at home or in a clinical setting, is an essential part of every treatment plan. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instruments have been used for over a decade to detect the presence of insulin and insulin analogs.
Oct 5, 2016
In 2014, 1.5 million people died of TB and the infection rate totaled one-third of the world's population.
Sep 29, 2016
Introducing: The New Reichert4SPR Instrument Software
Too often, instrument software packages require more work to master than they should. We want to help change that. Reichert is proud to announce our new Reichert4SPR software - designed by scientists for scientists. The new Reichert4SPR software guides you through the natural workflow of your experiments, from immobilization to method development through scale up of large screening runs. Analysis is intuitive and easy, too. There’s no training required, and the idea of “programming” a run that plagues a lot of software simply doesn’t exist.
Sep 27, 2016
Metabolic Syndrome is a group of factors or traits that increase a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease (and related conditions, such as stroke and type 2 diabetes). The five major factors with the most prognostic significance for clinicians and high-risk patients are 1) abdominal fat, 2) high triglycerides in the blood, 3 )low HDL levels (good fats), 4) high blood pressure and 5) high fasting blood sugar.
Sep 20, 2016
Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging in Studying Cell-Matrix Interactions
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is becoming an increasingly popular tool of choice for studying cell-matrix interactions. As recap of our recent webinar of September 20th, featuring Michael Hill, today’s post features the use of surface plasmon resonance in observing and measuring cell-matrix interactions: SPR imaging.
Sep 13, 2016
SPR Technology Decreasing Costs and Wait-time to Diagnoses
Sometimes the advantage of using one instrument over another lies not just in the the instrument’s capabilities, but also in other, more practical, factors such as time and cost of operation.
Sep 7, 2016
When a Liberian tourist was diagnosed with the Ebola virus shortly after arrival in the U.S., the story dominated the news cycle for two weeks in late 2014. The patient subsequently transmitted the virus to two American healthcare workers. One of the two healthcare workers unwittingly infected others prior to his diagnosis, necessitating the surveillance of the passengers and crew aboard the two flights on which he traveled.
Aug 29, 2016
SPR Helps Scientists Show that Pain Reduction is possible using Tarantula Venom
There are an estimated 8.76 million prescription abusers in the United States (as of 2010). The vast majority, 5.1 million, were addicted to analgesics. Patients are warned that side effects include drowsiness and are cautioned against driving or operating other heavy machinery while taking the medication. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) survey of drivers' postmortem serology reports that of those who tested positive for drugs, prescription pain relievers were present in 46% of the samples.
Aug 23, 2016
The Graphene Invention From Nobel Prize to SPR Application
Until recently, 2-D crystals (monolayers of atomic particles forming gigantic 2D molecules) were thought to be thermodynamically unstable. Conventional wisdom judged them to be of such low quality that they were unsuitable for most scientific and medical applications.
Aug 17, 2016
SPR Unparalleled in the Study of Nucleic Acid Interactions
Surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) biotechnology is playing an increasingly important role in the study of molecular interactions of nucleic acids (NA), which includes NA interaction with other NAs as well as proteins and other small molecules.
Aug 12, 2016
Applications of SPR in anti-doping analyses
Doping scandals seemingly become more commonplace as medical advances make their strides. One of the most prominent examples can be found in the recent headlines concerning the decision to ban the Russian track and field team from the 2016 Summer Olympics “because of a far-reaching doping conspiracy,” according to the New York Times. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the organization responsible for overseeing the testing of Olympic athletes, when testing for human growth hormone (hGH), one of the most frequently-used performance enhancing drugs, the methods of choice for serum analysis are immunoassays.
Aug 5, 2016
SPR Early Detection of Antibody Formation Defects in CVID
The immunodeficiency disease: (CVID) severely compromises a person's ability to produce immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies (IgG), making them extremely vulnerable to infectious diseases. Early detection of CVID in this population can save lives.
Jul 29, 2016
Using SPR Technology to Decrease Bleeding in Patients Using Warfarin
Warfarin is a small molecule - often present as a mixture of R and S enantiomers - prescribed as an anticoagulant for such medical conditions as heart failure and as a preventative measure for high-risk stroke patients. Warfarin’s usefulness has led it to become the most widely prescribed oral anticoagulant and is of interest to many medical researchers. However, shortly after warfarin’s entry into a patient’s bloodstream, 99% of the drug sample binds to plasma proteins, leaving very little drug remaining active in the bloodstream. This phenomenon increases the difficulty of analyzing the free warfarin within serum samples by the use of traditional methods.
Jul 22, 2016
SPR's Label-free Platform Cuts Costs and Improves the Reliability and Accuracy of Scientific Studies
Label-free study of molecular binding interactions using SPR provides scientists with several advantages not available via traditional investigative methods. This cost-effective technology offers detailed insight into molecular interactions - and eliminates the confounding variables which sometimes result from the use of fluorescent and radioactive markers.
Jul 15, 2016
Need High Affinity Antibodies Fast?: Combine Phage Display and SPR Technologies
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) in combination with phage display can be used for antibody production. This combination can reduce the number of steps required to select out antibodies and can yield additional data, including kinetics and affinity information.
Jul 8, 2016
SPR's Role in the Development of Anti-HIV Therapy
The development of anti-HIV therapy has coincided with the development and enhancement of SPR technology. This is important because the more we know about how the HIV virus gains entrance to our CD4 T cells and suppresses the immune system, the more investigation is needed in understanding the molecular interactions involved for targeted therapy design and development.
Jun 24, 2016
Immunologists pushing the advantages of immunotherapy against cancer use SPR technology to study the highly specific and efficient binding of antibodies, nanobodies and T/B cell receptors to tumor antigens and peptide-bound pMHC. -
Jun 10, 2016
The Heart of SPR: Sensor Chip Developments and Innovation
Sensor chips are the core of any SPR instrument and their proper choice will help determine whether a biomolecular interaction can be studied effectively with SPR. The base sensor chip is glass coated with a thin layer of metal which has free electrons. Aluminum, copper, silver and gold all have frequencies in the visible range but gold is most frequently used since it is the most chemically inert choice.
Jun 7, 2016
An Introduction to Reichert's SPR Products
Our Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) instruments perform lab techniques that allow researchers to assess biomolecular interactions and binding properties that are investigated in many fields of science. We offer several different SPR products that are specialized for different researchers’ needs.
Jun 4, 2016
The Market Growth in SPR Technologies
The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the global surface plasmon resonance market is projected to increase annually over the next ten years. "Continuous research in the field of proteomics and increasing demand for novel drugs" are the most significant sources of growth.
May 17, 2016
Using SPR to Study Environmental Toxins
There has been a need for a simple, rapid and cost effective method for environmental monitoring applications, especially for toxin detection in food and water. For this type of analysis, biosensors show improvements in sensitivity, selectivity, and efficiency for detecting and measuring certain compounds. Biosensor technology provides a means for toxin detection in a label-free method.
Apr 29, 2016
Research Applications of SPR Products: What They Can Do For You
From the Reichert4SPR four-channel instrument to the Reichert SR7500DC, our surface plasmon resonance products are suited to a variety of applications. Our reliable precision instruments maximize efficiency and accuracy with optimal levels of sensitivity and throughput.
Apr 20, 2016
Novel cancer therapies are constantly being developed in hopes of offering promising treatments to those who have been diagnosed. When one treatment holds a possible therapeutic effectiveness for several types of cancer, it is assessed for all possible applications. Several peptide-based indicators have been identified by a research group at the Cell and Matrix Research Institute at the Kyungpook National Institute in Korea using Reichert’s SPR systems for analysis.
Apr 20, 2016
Service Value in Reichert's SPR Systems
Every scientist knows the limitations that are put into place once a grant is awarded and a budget is implemented. When it comes to instrumentation and lab supplies, quality is what matters. Reichert’s SPR systems help take some of the stress away. Reichert’s SPR systems provide excellent value, helping researchers save resources, money, and time.
Mar 21, 2016
How Reichert's SPR Systems Can Help You Get Published
Approximately 7-8% of scientific articles submitted for publication will be approved ¹, ². Even the manuscripts that are approved still may have to undergo a sometimes long and even repeated process of peer review and revision. One of the main determinants used to accept or reject a piece of submitted scientific literature is the quality of data presented.
Mar 14, 2016
How To Be An Effective Laboratory Supervisor
Supervising a laboratory requires a career-minded individual who ensures all experiments work towards a common goal. Laboratory management is more than just technical skills; it is the ability to organize and plan in a way that keeps other lab members focused on that goal while using their time efficiently and safely.
Feb 29, 2016
The 2015 Appropriations Package and the Future of Biomedical Research
The 2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act made international headlines and was acclaimed by many American scientists. The permanent “R&D” tax credit is among the bill’s more popular provisions. The Union Of Concerned Scientists expressed relief “that this omnibus funding bill was not loaded with unnecessary and divisive policy riders.”
Feb 22, 2016
Choosing the Best Technique for Biomolecular Interactions Analysis
When answering research questions related to biomolecular interactions (eg. affinity, on rates, off rates, etc.) in the fields of molecular biology or chemistry, scientists have a number of experimental techniques from which to choose. Radioligand binding and fluorescence labeling are two techniques that have traditionally been employed to study molecular affinity. Now, however, researchers are increasingly turning to methods such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to quantify properties of biomolecular interactions.
Feb 19, 2016
Improving Early Prostate Cancer Detection with Surface Plasmon Resonance Technology
More than 220,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year, making the disease a leading cause of mortality in men. In fact, nearly 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives.
Feb 12, 2016
Improving Early Prostate Cancer Detection with Surface Plasmon Resonance Technology
More than 220,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year, making the disease a leading cause of mortality in men. In fact, nearly 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives.
Feb 12, 2016
Why so much variation in results?
Reproducing experiments is at the core of the scientific method. However, science is facing a major reproducibility crisis. A recent study evaluated 441 biomedical articles and found that the findings from just 8 of the surveyed studies were later confirmed (although it is possible that findings were replicated but unpublished). Solving this reproducibility problem is essential to advancing biomedical research.
Feb 5, 2016
The 2015 Appropriations Package and the Future of Biomedical Research
The 2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act made international headlines and was acclaimed by many American scientists. The permanent “R&D” tax credit is among the bill’s more popular provisions. The Union Of Concerned Scientists expressed relief “that this omnibus funding bill was not loaded with unnecessary and divisive policy riders.”
Jan 22, 2016
The Future of Smartphone Based Surface Plasmon Resonance Technology
Access to routine medical services, let alone high-tech diagnostic and treatment equipment, is nearly impossible in many developing nations.
Jan 6, 2016
Identification of PqsD inhibitors using surface plasmon resonance
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a significant global public health issue, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that 2 million Americans become infected with antibiotic-resistance diseases each year. One such bacterial strain, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, infects immunocompromised patients and those with cystic fibrosis. These bacterial cells rely on a quorum sensing communication system.
Dec 21, 2015
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is not commonly used to study cells. There are a few possible explanations for why this is the case.
Nov 19, 2015
The Impact of SPR Technology on the Pharmaceutical Industry
SPR biosensing enjoys an influential role in the field of pharmaceutical research, yet some experts argue that the technology is still not being used to its full potential. SPR allows scientists to observe the behavior of practically any molecular interaction. It has therefore enjoyed a prominent role in the discovery and development of new drugs over the past decades. Currently, researchers are using it to explore the infinite possibilities when it comes to combinations of analytes and receptors.
Nov 12, 2015
Crowdfunding and Congress: A Research Funding Renaissance?
As we recently reported, the dwindling pool of research dollars has inspired some scientists to search for new funding sources. They've augmented scarce research budgets with crowd funding donations. These campaigns have raised between a few thousand to well over a million dollars. However, even the most successful ventures have lost a percentage of their hard-won donations to platform and other fees.
Nov 5, 2015
PEGS Europe is the largest European event covering all aspects of protein and antibody engineering.
Nov 2, 2015
The Advantages of SPR Technology
While there are many biosensing instruments available, SPR technology makes observing binding behavior on a molecular level easier and more accurate than ever before.
Oct 28, 2015
The Future of SPR: Improved Accuracy and Affordability
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has long been the gold standard in detecting and observing biomolecular interactions and there is every indication that this trend will continue. In fact, scientists are pushing the known limits of SPR in order to explore new ways to use the technology to further our understanding in the fields of kinetics and thermodynamics and to help create more affordable healthcare. Both of these areas appear ripe for innovation with the integration of SPR across a variety of applications.
Oct 22, 2015
Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi specific antibodies with SPR technology
Lyme disease refers to a group of symptoms caused by an infection of the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium. The bacteria is carried by the deer tick throughout much of North America, and both nymph and adult ticks can transfer the disease to a human or animal host if they are attached for extended periods of time. Most transmissions occur during summer and early fall months.
Oct 14, 2015
If you know Reichert, you also know that we are scientists too. Just like you, we are always interested in ways to make our jobs easier, more efficient, more accurate or more fun. So today, we are introducing a new feature to SPR Insider to help you do just that.
Oct 9, 2015
Crowdfunding: An Alternative Source of Research Dollars
Funding for scientific research has been curtailed since the last of the 2010 stimulus money was allocated. Scientists are now taking cues from social media to eliminate the bottleneck of government grants: they're asking the beneficiaries of scientific research to subsidize their work.
Sep 25, 2015
Electrochemistry and SPR (ESPR)
Electrochemistry and SPR (ESPR) allows the seamless integration of SPR (surface plasmon resonance) with electrochemical measurements. When combined, researchers can look at both optical and electrochemical properties of interfaces concurrently. Surface effects that can be studied include: thin film formation (SAM formation), adsorption/desorption, polymer formation, redox initiated conformation changes and trace metals. Since SPR is sensitive to both the adsorbed layer on the gold electrode and to the dielectric properties of the solution phase, electrochemically modulated diffusion layers can be detected.
Sep 1, 2015
Reichert Life Sciences had the opportunity to attend the 29th Annual Symposium of the Protein Society — a prominent scientific forum where scientists, researchers and professionals gathered to learn about the latest developments in protein science last month in Barcelona, Spain. The meeting featured prestigious speakers, numerous workshops and networking opportunities for educators, professionals and students alike.
Aug 4, 2015
User Access Control - Consider using it
Is your Reichert SPR instrument in a core lab with multiple users? Do you want the ability to track users of your SPR? If so, you should consider using the User Access Control feature in SPR Autolink.
Jul 14, 2015
Introducing the Reichert4SPR – THE 4-channel surface plasmon resonance instrument
Jun 2, 2015
Tips for Users Series - #6 - Data Analysis Part 2
Tips for Users Series #6 – Data Analysis Part 2
Dec 11, 2014
Tips for Users Series - #5 - Data Analysis Part 1
The next two posts will provide tips related to data analysis – what types of analysis you can do and what type of data is needed to get the results you want.
Nov 26, 2014
Tips For Users Series - #4 - Kinetic vs. Equilibrium Analysis
Surface Plasmon Resonance can be used for both kinetic and equilibrium analyses. This post will provide background on each type of experiment and explain what information you can expect to obtain from each.
Nov 6, 2014
Tips For Users Series - #3 - Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) - Part 2
Tips for Users Series - #3 - Get better data with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) - Part 2
Oct 23, 2014
Tips For Users Series - #2 - Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) - Part 1
Whether you are new to performing SPR experiments or not, everyone can use a brief refresher on Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). Using GLP will help ensure that you get the best data possible from your experimental design and make the best use of your valuable samples.
Oct 9, 2014
Whether you own one of Reichert’s SPR instruments or need some SPR experiments performed for you, our global network of experts is here to help. With passionate PhD scientists on staff who have in-depth experience with SPR experiments, Reichert is uniquely positioned to assist with all of your needs, from methods development through the performance of high-volume experiments.
Sep 23, 2014
Welcome to a new series of Surface Plasmon Resonance Insider blog posts that are focused on providing tips to maximize the quality of your SPR data. While the actual process of using Reichert Life Sciences’ SPR products is easy, there are many “tricks of the trade” that we will share with you so that you can obtain the highest quality data possible.
Aug 26, 2014
When running a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) experiment to characterize the interaction between two molecules, you may need to take steps to minimize non-specific binding.This Surface Plasmon Resonance Insider post will provide you with the information you need to minimize non-specific binding when it interferes with a binding interaction under study.
Feb 4, 2014
Choosing the Right Sensor Chip
The first step in planning your Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) experiment is choosing the best sensor chip for the job. There are a variety of chips to choose from, but they can be classified into two main groups: 2D (planar) and 3D (hydrogel). Each type of chip has its own advantages depending on what type of experiment you plan to run. This Surface Plasmon Resonance Insider post will provide you with the information you need to help you decide which type of chip to choose as you plan your SPR experiment.
Jan 21, 2014
Overcoming Regeneration Problems
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is the best technique for characterizing molecular interactions. One obstacle in carrying out a successful SPR experiment is identifying an appropriate solution to regenerate the sensor surface so the chip can be reused for multiple analyte injections. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find the best solution to regenerate the sensor chip surface, and this “scouting” step can be very time-consuming. This Surface Plasmon Resonance Insider post will help you overcome some of these problems as you plan your SPR study.
Jan 7, 2014
The Importance of Rate Constants
When investigating molecular interactions, equilibrium dissociation constants (KD) are commonly used as a measure of two molecules’ affinity for each other. In other words, the KD is a direct measure of the strength of an interaction. Determining the KD is very important to evaluate the biological relevance of an interaction such as in study of fusion proteins, DNA-protein binding and for standard protein analysis.
Dec 15, 2013
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is an extremely valuable technique for characterizing molecular interactions. Like most technologies that generate large quantities of data, SPR experiments are made easier with powerful, user-friendly software. The ideal SPR data analysis program not only allows you to collect raw data, but also allows you to analyze the data and create publication-ready graphs in a straightforward way. Reichert has accomplished this goal with a combination of in-house software development, and partnering with an external expert, Ridgeview Instruments AB.
Dec 3, 2013
The first step in conducting a study with Surface Plasmon Resonance is to immobilize the ligand of interest on the surface of a gold sensor chip, regardless of whether you are investigating fusion proteins, protein-DNA binding, antibodies, peptide chains or some other macromolecule.
Nov 19, 2013
Reichert Life Sciences welcomes you to our new blog, the Surface Plasmon Resonance Insider, which is all about Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). These discussions will provide practical information on how to set up successful experiments and share updates on advances in the field of SPR technology. Our first post is an introduction to SPR.
Nov 5, 2013