Computer screen photo-excited surface plasmon resonance imaging

Angle and spectra resolved surface plasmon resonance (SPR) images of gold and silver thin films with protein deposits is demonstrated using a regular computer screen as light source and a web camera as detector. The screen provides multiple-angle illumination, p-polarized light and controlled spectral radiances to excite surface plasmons in a Kretchmann configuration. A model of the SPR reflectances incorporating the particularities of the source and detector explain the observed signals and the generation of distinctive SPR landscapes is demonstrated. The sensitivity and resolution of the method, determined in air and solution, are 0.145 nm pixel−1, 0.523 nm, 5.13 × 10−3 RIU degree−1 and 6.014 × 10−4 RIU, respectively, encouraging results at this proof of concept stage and considering the ubiquity of the instrumentation.