Bio-molecular and cellular detection using SPR sensor and all-transparent microfluidic platform

This paper reports an automated polymer based microfluidic analysis system integrated with a surface plasm on resonance (SPR) biosensor for detecting the specific binding of biomolecules and qualitatively monitoring of cell adhesion on the sensor surface. Micropumps, microchannels, and a SPR biosensor were integrated into a single polymer (PMMA) based microfluidic system. Because SPR based bio-detection requires optically transparent substrates, PMMA is a potential replacement for glass and silicon-glass microfluidic systems, if bio-compatibility and low-cost are desired. The integrated system has been studied for its potential applications in bio-molecules detection and drug-discovery. Two experiments, 1) monitoring the reaction between BSA-BSA antibody, and 2) monitoring the activities of living cells in the presence or absence of trypsin in RPMI-1640 medium, were conducted to show its biomedical applications. The experimental setup and results of these tests are presented in this paper