Improving the sensitivity of surface plasmon resonance phase imaging system

Improving sensitivity is crucial for high-throughput surface plasmon resonance (SPR) array detection. In our experiment setup, CCD camera is used as the array detector. Experiment results indicate that the camera's noise is a main factor affecting the detection sensitivity. This article presents several effective ways to improve the sensitivity of the SPR phase imaging system. 1.0 x 10(-6) refractive index unit (RIU) resolution can be achieved for a 300 x 300 mu m(2) reaction area by decreasing the camera noise. The sensitivity could be further increased similar to 35% by changing the exposure times periodically during the image acquisition, which can also get as much as 4 times of the original spatial resolution.