MUNASET Publication: Graphene-Enhanced Plasmonic Interfaces

The detection of cells and viruses is essential for research and clinical applications, driving a demand for high-performance biosensors. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) enables label-free, real-time detection and is highly promising for healthcare, including point-of-care diagnostics. However, SPR performance can be limited in complex biological systems. Integrating two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, into SPR sensors has been proposed as a strategy to improve sensitivity, though experimental evidence has so far been limited.

A new collaborative study led by Prof. Alexey Tarasov, coordinator of the Graphene Flagship's MUNASET project, investigated the effect of graphene on SPR biosensors across several biologically relevant systems, including antibody-virus and peptide-cell interactions. Compared to conventional gold sensors, graphene integration produced reproducible signal enhancements of up to 600%, far exceeding previous reports. Notably, graphene-enhanced SPR enabled discrimination between different cell types – a capability not observed with gold alone. These findings demonstrate that graphene provides significantly greater enhancement than predicted and can be applied across diverse biological systems.

This work establishes graphene-enhanced SPR as a powerful platform for improving biosensor performance, with broad potential in biomedical research, diagnostics, and gene therapy. By adding a monolayer of graphene to the gold surface of SPR chips, signal strength is dramatically increased, enabling real-time study of a wide range of biochemical interactions.

“This is the first study showing that graphene can significantly enhance SPR performance across multiple biologically relevant systems,” said Prof. Tarasov. “Graphene-enhanced sensors are fast, versatile, and adaptable, providing a powerful tool for real-time biomedical research, diagnostics, and therapy.”

The MUNASET project is also developing graphene-based devices to help doctors monitor patients with depression and other psychiatric disorders. These point-of-care tests, requiring only a blood sample, could enable personalised treatment plans and improved outcomes.