How does SPR work?
The sensor chip is a gold film coated on a glass substrate that has been chemically modified to make it easier to immobilize one of the binding partners onto the surface of the sensor: the ligand. The molecule in solution is the analyte.
The optical system consists of a light source and a detector. The light source illuminates the gold film, and the detector measures the unique optical spectrum produced by the SPR phenomenon. Most SPR instruments utilize a laser that shines through a prism beneath the sensor chip, generating a total-internal-reflection condition.
The reflected light will have a characteristic dip in intensity at a certain angle due to the plasmonic wave, which is measured with a detector. When a molecule binds to the surface of the sensor chip, the refractive index of the space in which the plasmonic wave is propagating through changes, and the reflectance angle will shift. The amount it shifts depends on how much mass of material has bound to the surface, and the shift can be measured in near real time.