Long-range surface plasmon resonance and its sensing applications: A review

Long-range surface plasmon resonance (LRSPR) sensor, a novel type of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor, is characterized by high sensitivity, high detection accuracy, flexible design, label-free, and real-time analysis. The micron-scale penetration depth of long-range surface plasmon wave (LRSPW) in the analyte makes LRSPR sensor quite suitable for biomacromolecules detection. This paper firstly described the research progress of LRSPR and the sensing characteristics of LRSPR sensor, and then the theoretical fundamentals of LRSPR were introduced. The specific types of LRSPR sensors and applications were detailedly summarized in tabular form, especially the dielectric buffer layers (DBLs) used for the fabrication of LRSPR chips were contrasted. Furthermore, the comparison between conventional SPR (cSPR) and LRSPR was presented, and the future scope of study in LRSPR technology was discussed. LRSPR sensor has drawn more and more attentions because of its excellent sensing performance, and especially the fiber based LRSPR sensor has promising potential in the fields of biochemistry, medicine, food quality inspections, etc.