Surface plasmon resonance analytical device

Abstract

A long-range SPR sensor includes: (a) a source of electromagnetic radiation, (b) an optical structure including a block of material transparent to the electromagnetic radiation, a spacer layer of dielectric material, a metallic layer, and a sensitive layer capable of reaction with a sample to be tested, and (c) apparatus for monitoring radiation from the source which is incident upon the block and which is internally reflected at the interface between the block and the spacer layer. A thin layer of dielectric material of high refractive index is interposed between the metallic layer and the layer of sensitive material. The provision of the thin layer of dielectric material between the metal layer and the sample under test enables the advantages of long-range SPR to be more fully realized, notably a very sharp resonance with corresponding improvements in sensitivity.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.