This could be a game-changer in industry as it means chemicals can be identified in real time, often without any need for complex preprocessing or labels.
Real-Time, Visual Detection With Nanoparticles
LSPR sensors use metal nanoparticles to detect how molecules interact with surfaces at the nanoscale. When a target chemical binds to its surface, the local electromagnetic field is changed, something the nanoparticles are highly sensitive to. This results in a measurable optical signal, often even visible to the naked eye.
Because LSPR sensors can continuously track interactions, they’re ideal for studying the kinetics and binding strength of molecular events. Advances in optical equipment now allow scientists to detect even subtle absorbance changes, making the technology more precise than ever.
Importantly, these sensors are compact and cost-effective, making them suitable for use outside the lab, from food safety inspections to remote fieldwork. To push performance further, researchers are designing a variety of nanoparticle sensing materials, including bimetallic and organometallic nanoparticles, to boost sensitivity and responsiveness.
SPR Sensors: Measuring Molecular Binding With High Precision
SPR sensors operate on a similar principle but typically use flat metal films instead of nanoparticles. They track how light reflects off the surface when molecules bind, offering direct insight into molecular interactions in flowing liquids or gases.
Thanks to their high sensitivity, SPR sensors can detect chemicals at incredibly low concentrations, even in the picomolar or femtomolar range. This is especially valuable for studying how molecules bind and unbind, which is an essential factor in drug development and protein interaction studies.
Their flexibility lies in the range of sensing materials used: 2D, metal oxides, and organic composites. These materials can be tailored for specific targets, including biological fluids and complex mixtures.
From Pollution Sensors to Pocket-Sized Diagnostics
LSPR and SPR sensors are already finding practical use in a wide range of real-world applications. In medicine, they’re helping to improve drug discovery and biomarker monitoring, all supporting the shift toward precision healthcare.
In environmental science, the ability to detect pollutants and toxins quickly and accurately makes these sensors key tools for water quality testing, air monitoring, and hazard detection.
Industrial uses include quality control in manufacturing, process monitoring, and trace contamination detection, where instant analysis can prevent toxic products from leaving the factory.
Recent studies are attempting to push portability even further. One example described in the review is of a microfluidic LSPR biosensor with dual-color lens-free imaging. This device monitors multiple binding events in real time over a large field of view, which is ideal for low-resource settings.
Another example is a smartphone-compatible SPR sensor, with all components mounted behind the device and results delivered straight to an app.
Technical Challenges Still To Be Solved
Despite rapid progress in these plasmonic sensors, there are still some logistical issues to be solved. LSPR and SPR sensors are very sensitive to environmental noise, such as temperature shifts or mechanical vibrations, which can interfere with readings. Non-specific adsorption of background molecules also lowers signal accuracy and affects selectivity.
On the nanoscale, LSPR sensors require perfectly uniform nanoparticles, which can be difficult to execute. Even slight variations can alter how they respond to target chemicals, reducing reliability. Similarly, SPR performance is limited when thick sensing layers cause optical losses at the resonance wavelength.
Researchers are developing precise synthesis methods and noise-canceling strategies to improve reproducibility and robustness across applications, from disease diagnostics to field-based chemical screening.
Journal Reference
Cho, S. H., Choi, S., Suh, J. M., & Jang, H. W. (2025). Advancements in Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors for Real-Time Detection of Chemical Analytes: Sensing Materials and Applications. Journal of Materials Chemistry C. DOI: 10.1039/d4tc04890c. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/tc/d4tc04890c
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