Acquisition of a surface plasmon resonance instrument for research and teaching

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded the University of Missouri System $124,978 on July 15, 2026, to acquire a Nicoya OpenSPR-XT surface plasmon resonance instrument for research and teaching at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The award is made under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), an NIH Instrumentation for Resource-Limited Institutions (RLI-S10) grant.

The OpenSPR-XT instrument enables real-time, label-free analysis of molecular binding affinity and kinetics. The university will integrate the platform into upper-level undergraduate and graduate laboratory courses in biochemistry, chemistry, and biology, and into basic biomedical research projects conducted primarily by graduate and undergraduate students. The system accommodates diverse molecular interactions across multiple disciplines and requires no dedicated technician for real-time monitoring.

Performance occurs at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, Office of Research, located in Normandy, Missouri. The period of performance runs from July 15, 2026, through July 14, 2027.

Abstract

The instrument requested in this NIH instrumentation for resource-limited institutions (RLI-S10) grant application is a nicoya openspr-XT surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument that will greatly enhance the research and teaching of many investigators and faculty at university of missouri-ST. Louis (UMSL). While principal investigators and teaching labs at UMSL are already involved in a variety of basic biomedical and chemistry/biology/biochemical experimentation, this platform and technology will be new on campus. The ability to directly assess binding and kinetics with the openspr-XT instrument will further strengthen numerous research projects and provide excellent exposure to students populating UMSL biochemistry, chemistry and biology advanced teaching labs. The openspr-XT is the world's first benchtop SPR instrument with the ability to carry out real-time, label-free analysis of affinity and kinetics data for a wide range of molecular applications. The system is user-friendly and adapts to any skill level with no need for a dedicated technician for real-time monitoring of binding. Basic biomedical research at UMSL is carried out by primarily graduate and undergraduate students and the addition of SPR capability will allow direct and accurate binding measurements for a wide variety of molecular interactions. The integration of this technology into our upper level and graduate lab courses will benefit our students as they transition to industry or further their research training in an advanced degree program. This grant proposal describes numerous UMSL research objectives and teaching applications that will benefit substantially from the openspr-XT instrument acquisition. The technology is quite versatile, accommodating many different types of interactions different researcher needs in multiple disciplines in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, plant science, and biophysics. The RLI-S10 grant mechanism is ideal for UMSL, as lab space, instrument management, and researcher interest are all readily available to accommodate the instrument addition.