Method Article

Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging to Detect Protein Secretions from a Single Cell

July 8th, 2025

In This Article

Abstract

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Source: Raghu, D. et al., A Label-free Technique for the Spatio-temporal Imaging of Single Cell Secretions. J. Vis. Exp. (2015)

This video demonstrates localized surface plasmon resonance imaging to detect protein secretions from a single cell. Using a microfluidic setup and a peptide-bound plasmonic nanostructure chip, changes in reflected light intensity at the resonance angle reveal interactions with secreted proteins from a single cell.

Protocol

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1. Nanostructure Fabrication

  1. Choose 25 mm diameter glass coverslips with an approximate thickness of 170 µm (No. 1.5) as substrates for nanofabrication.
  2. Immerse the coverslips in piranha solution (3:1 ratio of sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide) for at least 6 hr. Wash the piranha-soaked coverslip with copious amounts of ultrapure 18.2 MΩ deionized distilled water (DDW).
    CAUTION: Piranha acid reacts violently with organic materials and must be handled with extreme care.
  3. Deposit 10 nm chromium thin film on the coverslips by e-beam evaporation to avoid charge effects during the patte....

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Results

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Optical microscopy setup for transient absorption spectroscopy with 3D surface result diagram.
Figure 1. Optical Setup. The illuminated light from a halogen lamp is first filtered by a long pass filter (LP). The light is linearly polarized (P1) and illuminates the sample via a 40X/1.4 NA objective. The scattered light is collected by t.......

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Disclosures

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No conflicts of interest declared.

Materials

List of materials used in this article
NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
25mm diameter glass coverslipsBioscience Tools CSHP-No1.5-25 170±5 µm is optimal
Poly-methyl methacrylateMicrochemPMMA 950 A4
Ethyl lactate methyl metacrylateMicrochemMMA EL6
Electron beam evaporatorTemescalFC-2000
Electron beam lithographyRaithSeries 150
EthanolSigma-Aldrich459836
AcetoneSigma-Aldrich320110
CR-7 chromium etchantCyantekCR-7
Scanning electron microscopeZeissUltra 55
Atomic force microscopeVeecoNanoscope III
Plasma ashing systemTechnicsSeries 85 RIE
SH-(CH2)8-EG3-OH (SPO) ProchimiaTH 001-m8.n3-0.2
SH-(CH2)11-EG3-COOH (SPC)ProchimiaTH 003m11n3-0.1
SH-(CH2)11-EG3-NH2 (SPN)ProchimiaTH 002-m11.n3-0.2
Surface plasmon resonance systemBioradXPR36
Bare gold chipBioradGLC chipPlasma ashed to remove the monolayer
1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimideThermo22980
N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS)Thermo24510
Pentylamine-Biotin Thermo21345
EthanolamineSigma-AldrichE9508
NeutraavidinThermo31000
Phosphate buffered salineThermo28374
Tween 20Sigma-AldrichP2287
Inverted microscopeZeissAxio ObserverMicroscope is equipped with 40X oil immersion objective; CO2 and humidity incubation from Pecon GmbH
CCD cameraHamamatsuOrca R2Thermoelectrically cooled (16 bit)
SpectrometerOcean OpticsQE65Pro
SpectrasuiteOcean Opticsversion1.4
c-myc peptide HyNic TagSolulinkSP-E003
monoclonal anti-c-myc antibodySigma-AldrichM4439
Hybridoma cell lineATCCCRL-1729
Antibiotic Antimycotic Solution (100×)Sigma-AldrichA5955
Serum free media RPMI 1640 Invitrogen 11835-030
Fetal bovine serumATCC30-2020
Rhodamine DHPELife TechnologiesL-1392

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Tags

Protein Secretion DetectionSingle Cell ImagingMicrofluidic SetupPlasmonic Nanostructure ChipReflected Light IntensityHybridoma CellsLSPR Chip RegenerationThiol Self Assembled MonolayerOptical Setup Alignment

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