Research progress of surface plasmon resonance technology in drug discovery

Abstract

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology is a powerful and sensitive tool for investigating molecular interactions. Technical improvements in recent years have brought new functionality to SPR apparatuses that can be widely applied at multiple stages of the drug discovery process. The technology allows users to conduct ligand fishing and offers rich and in-depth information regarding the affinity, specificity, kinetics, concentration and identification of covalent/allosteric/competitive binding behaviors. The present review highlights the principle, sample types, detection ranges, experimental methods, strengths, limitations, and the latest research progress on the application of SPR technology in the drug discovery process.