Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensor technology for the quantitative characterization of protein-carotenoid interactions

Arch Biochem Biophys. 2015 Apr 15:572:66-72. doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2014.12.005. Epub 2014 Dec 13.

Abstract

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor method is a highly sensitive, label-free technique to study the non-covalent interactions of biomolecules, especially protein-protein and protein-small molecule interactions. We have explored this robust biosensor platform to study the interactions of carotenoid-binding proteins and their carotenoid ligands to assess the specificity of interaction, kinetics, affinity, and stoichiometry. These characterizations are important to further study uptake and transport of carotenoids to targeted tissues such as the macula of the human eye. In this review, we present an overview of the SPR method and optimization of assay conditions, and we discuss the particular challenges in studying carotenoid-protein interactions using SPR.

Keywords: Age-related macular degeneration; Biosensor; Carotenoid-binding proteins; GSTP1; IRBP; Macula; Retina; StARD3; Xanthophylls.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biological Transport
  • Carotenoids / metabolism*
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Macula Lutea / metabolism
  • Protein Binding
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods*

Substances

  • Carrier Proteins
  • Carotenoids