Surface plasmon resonance sensors

• US 5,035,863 A
• Filed: 05/10/1989
• Issued: 07/30/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences AB (General Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Amersham International Plc (General Electric Company)
• Inventors: Brady, Michael A. W., Finlan, Martin F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Warden, Robert J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US07/350,033
• Time in Patent Office: 811 Days
• Field of Search: 422/82.05, 422/82.11, 356/318, 356/445, 436/515, 436/516
• US Class Current: 422/82.05
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/553 and using surface plasmons fluorescence excitation G01N21/648; enhanced Raman G01N21/658
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/44721 by optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/54373 involving physiochemical end-point determination, e.g. wave-guides, FETS, gratings

Abstract

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is adapted for biochemical and similar testing on large area samples such as the gel of an electrophoresis apparatus. The gel is sandwiched between a pair of plates. One of the plates is of transparent material and, sandwiched between itself and the gel is a metal layer of a mosaic of silver dots. Light from a source is directed via a reflector and undergoes total internal reflection at the interfacce between the transparent plate and metal layer. The reflected light is passed via another reflector to a light detector. The equipment is arranged so that SPR occurs at the metal layer, which resonance is critically dependent upon the refractive index of the gel. The structure including the light source and detector, together with reflectors is caused to scan across the gel surface to enable a two-dimensional representation of the changes in refractive index across the gel to be built up. This enables the progress of sequencing to be monitored.

Claims