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VU Analytical Chemists bring SPRing

The VU together with the Wageningen University obtain grant to develop enhanced bioresolution and miniaturization of Surface Plasmon Resonance optical sensing ‘SPRing’.

Researchers from the Division of BioMolecular Analysis of VU University Amsterdam together with colleagues from the Wageningen University (WU) obtain grant to develop enhanced bioresolution and miniaturization of Surface Plasmon Resonance optical sensing ‘SPRing’.

Jeroen Kool, Hubertus Irth and Wilfried Niessen (VU) and Michel Nielen and Teris van Beek (WU) have obtained a grant from the NWO Technology Areas for Sustainable Chemistry (TASC), Technology Area Comprehensive Analytical Science and Technology (TA COAST). The grant (800.000 euro) allows the training of two PhD students on development of the biosensors. The SPRing consortium also comprises six private partners (Heineken, RIKILT, Synthon, Technex, Europroxima and Waterproef), which ensure good application potential and efficient valorization strategies.

Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)-biosensors are based on biological interactions of biomolecules immobilized on gold surfaces. The whole SPR technology, however, needs to be overhauled as current devices have severe drawbacks ranging from sensitivity problems, bulky equipment, have a low throughput and/or can only measure one biological interaction at the time.

Current day technologies now allow to turn recent breakthroughs in technological knowledge into the next generation of analytical benchtop and handheld SPR biosensing devices that can perform rapid safety analysis of food, pharma ingredients and the environment. Additionally, on-line coupling to analytical separations for comprehensive mixture analysis will be possible.