Large-scale plasmonic microarrays for label-free high-throughput screening

Microarrays allowing simultaneous analysis of thousands of parameters can significantly accelerate screening of large libraries of pharmaceutical compounds and biomolecular interactions. For large-scale studies on diverse biomedical samples, reliable, label-free, and high-content microarrays are needed. In this work, using large-area plasmonic nanohole arrays, we demonstrate for the first time a large-scale label-free microarray technology with over one million sensors on a single microscope slide. A dual-color filter imaging method is introduced to dramatically increase the accuracy, reliability, and signal-to-noise ratio of the sensors in a highly multiplexed manner. We used our technology to quantitatively measure protein-protein interactions. Our platform, which is highly compatible with the current microarray scanning systems can enable a powerful screening technology and facilitate diagnosis and treatment of diseases. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011.