Blog
Educational material, comparison studies and publications on SPR and other related techniques for researchers.
-
Improving SPR Data Quality: Controls, Design and Optimization
Accuracy, precision and reproducibility are the three most important principles in scientific research. When conducting an experiment using any technique and under any condition, these three principles will be the dividing lines between an accepted manuscript or a rejected one. Nicoya’s OpenSPR instrument measures binding kinetics in real-time and in a label-free manner. However, physical […]
-
New Publication – OpenSPR Binding Data Establishes A Novel In Vivo Imaging Technique
For decades, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) has been used as a novel cell and molecular biology tool with applications in imaging and reporting assays. Notably, expression and localization of proteins of interest can be tracked live in vivo using a GFP fusion tag. However, the limitation to using GFP fusions include the restriction of resolution […]
-
Technical Guide: Comparing SPR and QCM
Selecting the right lab equipment for your projects is always a challenge. With the number of techniques providing similar data, it can be difficult to determine which is most applicable to your work. In this respect, if your research involves measuring film thickness, swelling, fouling, deposition and/or self-assembly, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and quartz crystal […]
-
Biolayer Interferometry vs Surface Plasmon Resonance Comparison
Deciding which methods your lab should invest in can be challenging. Cost, experiment time and reproducibility are likely the three most important factors during your evaluation process. We understand that funding is more limited now than ever before, so finding a cost-effective, reproducible method is crucial. Furthermore, there are several pros and cons among various […]
-
New Publication – OpenSPR Binding Data Enhances Nanotherapeutic Construction with Molecular Affinity Strategy
In order for drugs to fight diseases, an efficient delivery method must be found. This necessitates an important area of study to ensure that drugs can effectively combat diseases. A subsection of this ever-expanding field is nanomedicine; as it’s name implies, nanomedicine straddles the fields of medicine and nanotechnology, in an effort to increase drug […]
-
How to Confront the Antibody Reproducibility Crisis using SPR
Have you ever ordered antibodies from an antibody supplier? Have you ever had a problem with antibody specificity, selectivity and reproducibility? Have you ever returned your antibodies back to the supplier only to receive another poor quality sample? If you answered yes to the questions above, you’ve suffered from the pandemic of “bad” antibodies. It’s […]
-
The ABC’s of Competitive Binding Assays with SPR
In the arena of drug discovery, there are a number of tools available for researcher’s to characterize binding behaviours of low molecular weight compounds with their target(s). These tools may include fluorescence or radiolabelling assays, keeping in mind that it is always recommended to avoid using labels as these may alter the spin (i.e. this […]
-
OpenSPR Binding Data Uncovers Antipsychotic Drug Mechanisms
Over the last number of years, there’s been an increasing amount of attention on combating mental illness and the associated stigma. Notably, psychiatric counseling is an important facet of treatment when dealing with mental illness in all cases. However, in more moderate-to-severe cases, therapeutic intervention may be necessary to overcome challenging symptoms and provide adequate […]
-
Technical Guide: Binding Assays with Flow Cytometry and SPR
Flow cytometers are excellent tools for the modern cell biologist and immunologist. They can provide a wide range of information which help researchers discern various cellular physical and chemical characteristics. Being an extremely versatile instrument, there are many applications for flow cytometry including cell counting, sorting, viability, apoptosis detection, membrane potential and even binding assays. […]
-
Preparing for Publication: Identification and Characterization
In our previous blog post, we explored some of the most commonly used structures for expression and purification of your protein binding partners. The expression systems we addressed included bacterial or eukaryotic cell expression vehicles, which come with distinct pros and cons, depending on the properties or intended future usage of your protein(s). Moreover, we […]