Norio Miura talks with
ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about
this month's Fast Breaking Paper in the field of
Engineering.
Article Title: Recent advancements in surface
plasmon resonance immunosensors for detection of small
molecules of biomedical, food and environmental
interest
Authors: Shankaran, DR;Gobi,
KVA;Miura
, N
Journal: SENSOR ACTUATOR B-CHEM
Volume: 121
Issue: 1
Page: 158-177
Year: JAN 30 2007
* Kyushu Univ, Art Sci & Technol Ctr Cooperat Res,
Kasuga, Fukuoka 8168580, Japan.
* Kyushu Univ, Art Sci & Technol Ctr Cooperat Res,
Kasuga, Fukuoka 8168580, Japan.
(addresses have been truncated)
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
SPR-based immunoassay is a highly demanding and rapidly growing research
area around the world. Indeed, ours was an invited review paper for the
special issue of the Sensors and Actuators B Journal on its
celebration of its 25th year of publication. While accepting this
invitation, I had a clear vision that this review paper should represent a
straightforward, systematic, and well-organized information source
providing a wealth of information on the state-of-the-art regarding the
principle and application of SPR immunosensors.
I believe that our review article provided all the necessary information
for all kinds of research conducted within this area. Through offering extensive
information pertaining to the biomedical, food, and environmental
applications of SPR immunoassays, this paper has received extensive
attention from researchers around the world. Thus, it has been highly
downloaded and cited. At this time, I'd like to thank one of my
co-authors, Dr. Dhesingh Ravi Shankaran, for his significant
contributions to the final paper.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or
synthesis of knowledge?
This review article provides the basic methodology while outlining current
trends and challenges in SPR-based immunoassays across a variety of
application areas.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in
layman's terms?
SPR immunoassays offer exceptional performance capabilities with respect to
sensitivity, specificity, speed, and multianalyte detection in complex
analytical matrices. Advancements in the technology of antibody production
and signal transduction provide a promising scope for SPR immunosensors to
lead the way to the next generation of biosensors.
The important aspects investigated by the use of SPR include protein
binding, association/dissociation kinetics, and affinity constants, which
contribute to wider application areas such as that of molecular
engineering, food analysis, clinical diagnosis, proteomics, environmental
monitoring, bacteriology, virology, cell biology, drug discovery, and
warfare detection.
This review highlights the current state-of-the-art in SPR immunosensors
and briefly outlines important issues regarding the development of SPR
immmunosensors; such as the preparation of biomolecules, sensor
fabrication, non-specific adsorption, surface regeneration, and detection
principles.
"...the
immediate target for my research
group is the development of
'lab-on-a-chip' systems for the
high-performance sensing of small
molecule compounds."
Particular emphasis is given to the indirect competitive immunoassay
principle, which is compatible and highly promising for the detection of
small analytes with enhanced sensitivity. We have also provided a detailed
discussion on the application of SPR immunosensors for biomedical,
environmental, and food analysis along with tables containing the
characteristic features and scope of each immunosensor.
How did you become involved in this research, and were
there any problems along the way?
Indeed, my main research area has been that of solid-state gas sensors, in
which I have been working for the past three decades. In addition,
biosensor and super capacitor investigations are also progressing among my
research group.
I had started working on SPR-based immunosensors 15 years ago. As a matter
of fact, we were the first to actually apply the principle of indirect
competitive inhibition to an immunosensor for the detection of small
molecule compounds (drugs). Since then, we have demonstrated this
methodology in detecting a variety of small molecular biomedical and
environmental compounds with remarkable sensitivity and selectivity.
In my research group, we have not had any particular problems in our
investigations. However, several challenges remain to be overcome in SPR
immunosensors, such as the development of portable systems for direct
analysis, multi-channel and multi-functional immunosystems for the
simultaneous analysis of multiple analytes in complex matrices with
enhanced sensitivity, and also selectivity using minimal sample volume. Of
course, these challenges exist for all researchers within this field. I am
happy to mention here that we have already demonstrated the use of portable
SPR systems for the detection of small molecule compounds and it can be
said that further advancements are currently under way.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
Recent trends demonstrate an aggressive growth in the basic research as
well as application of SPR immunoassays. I believe that this research area
is one of the most demanding among all areas of science and technology.
Hence, in the future, rapid growth can be expected across all of these
areas. The immediate future should involve the development of highly
simplified miniaturized systems for direct analysis of any analyte in its
complex matrices, also without prior separation and with only a very small
sample volume.
In a simple way, the analysis system is expected to be highly
user-friendly, such as the use of a personal diagnostic, hand-held
explosive detector, bar-coded food analysis systems, etc. Current and
future research in my laboratory will be along similar lines of
concentration. Currently, the immediate target for my research group is the
development of "lab-on-a-chip" systems for the high-performance sensing of
small molecule compounds.
Do you foresee any social or political implications for
your research?
SPR-based immunosensors have become significantly more important in various
areas, among which are environmental monitoring, food analysis, clinical
diagnosis, molecular engineering, and homeland security. Essentially, these
factors govern the quality of life around the around. As a matter of fact,
providing a better quality of life is of primary importance to almost any
government around the globe. In this regard, I believe that this research
has extensive social and political implications.
Norio Miura, Ph.D.
Professor
Art, Science and Technology Center for Cooperative Research (KASTEC)
Kyushu University
Kasuga-shi, Fukuoka, Japan