The power of Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy: how to harness its potential for enhanced diagnostics.

Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) spectroscopy has been established as a cornerstone for real-time and label-free detection due to its high sensitivity and simple detection mechanism, revolutionizing fields such as drug discovery, environmental monitoring, and medical diagnostics [1]. This presentation will focus on SPR imaging (SPRI), with a particular emphasis on the interplay between tailored surface chemistry, probe density, and signal amplification strategies that underpin its high sensitivity and specificity [2]. Advances in SPR Imaging, including coupling with microfluidics, enhancement in antifouling strategy, and integration with gold nanoparticles, are discussed to showcase their role in improving analytical performance, particularly in revealing low-abundant analytes in liquid biopsy samples. We explored diverse applications of SPRI, ranging from circulating tumor DNAs [3], cell-free fetal DNA [4], proteins [5] and microRNAs [6] as cancer biomarkers detection, which suggests the transformative power of the SPRI system in addressing critical challenges. Future directions are also proposed to guide ongoing research and development in this rapidly evolving field.