Leukemic marker detection using a spectro-polarimetric surface plasmon resonance platform

In this paper, we present a proof of concept screening for monoclonal immunoglobulin as a leukemia tumor marker using a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bio-sensing platform. This screening method is based on measurements of immunoglobulin levels in human serum and the determination of the relative concentrations of kappa and lambda light chains. The kappa/lambda ratio is used to determine the presence of monoclonal immunoglobulin. Tests have been performed using standard solutions of immunoglobulins and serum samples from patients with known leukemic diagnoses. This platform has a resolution of 5×10−7 refractive index unit (RIU) per channel, which is up to 10 times better than other SPR imaging systems for multi-sensing applications. The results obtained with this technique are in agreement with those acquired using conventional methods for immunoglobulin detection, indicating that our polarimetric SPR platform should be suitable for a cheap and efficient tool for early leukemia biomarker screening and monitoring applications.