Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy (SPR) device

• Subject Area: Microbiology, Virology and Immunology
• Term: Funded in 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 443523826

The analysis of interactions between biomolecules plays an important role in most disciplines of modern life sciences. To understand the function and molecular mechanisms of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids or other molecules in a biological system, it is essential to identify their interaction partners as well as to characterize these interactions. This includes the knowledge about the affinities, the number of potential binding sites (stoichiometry) as well as the association and dissociation rates (binding kinetics). A prerequisite for a patent application of e.g. a novel drug or a therapeutic antibody is the knowledge of binding kinetics to their specific targets. For such analyses of biomolecular interactions, the surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR) is established. For SPR, a molecule is immobilized on a chip surface, and the putative binding partner is injected over the chip in flow to analyse binding in real time and to determine the kinetics parameters. The requested SPR device allows an automated sample injection for measuring high amounts of samples or for screening purposes. Furthermore, the device is highly sensitive so that also the interaction of small molecules can be detected, which is essential for the planned projects.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Oberflächenplasmonresonanzspektroskopie-Gerät (SPR)
• Instrumentation Group: 3160 Biomolekular-Interaktionssysteme
• Applicant Institution: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
• Leader: Professor Dr. Ralf Heermann