Abstract
The demand for highly sensitive and versatile sensors is rapidly growing in biomedical applications, where specific, sensitive, and rapid detection are essential. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is a popular analytical tool for such applications due to its high sensitivity and real-time monitoring capabilities. However, conventional QCM-based biosensing assays often suffer from poor sensitivity and high sample consumption, limiting their practicality. This study introduces a modified electrode design and a single droplet-based assay to enhance QCM-based bio-detection. Through extensive experiments, including contact angle analysis, damping, and viscosity measurements, we identified an optimal elliptical electrode design for single droplet-based liquid sensing. Using QCM crystals coated with molecularly imprinted polydopamine (MIPDA) sensing films containing recognition sites for detecting pepsin as a model protein, we demonstrate that QCM crystals with elliptical electrodes exhibit up to 10 times higher sensitivity than the industry-standard 1-inch circular QCM crystal. Additionally, the optimized QCM crystals showed linear sensitivity over a wider volume range, providing consistent detection at 250 Hz/μl compared to the circular crystal's narrower range at 50 Hz/μl. These findings establish a foundation for next-generation QCM platforms with superior sensitivity, reduced sample requirements, and broader adaptability, paving the way for advancements in biomedical diagnostics and environmental monitoring.
Links
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5094062
- doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5094062
BibTeX (Download)
@article{ahamed5094062elliptical,
title = {Elliptical Electrode Designs in Quartz Crystal Microbalances: Enhancing Sensitivity in Liquid Biosensing Applications},
author = {Afri Ahamed and Chien Wei Ooi and Hui Jean Lim and N Ramakrishnan and Tridib Saha},
url = {https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5094062},
doi = {https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5094062},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-11},
urldate = {2025-01-11},
journal = {Available at SSRN 5094062},
abstract = {The demand for highly sensitive and versatile sensors is rapidly growing in biomedical applications, where specific, sensitive, and rapid detection are essential. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is a popular analytical tool for such applications due to its high sensitivity and real-time monitoring capabilities. However, conventional QCM-based biosensing assays often suffer from poor sensitivity and high sample consumption, limiting their practicality. This study introduces a modified electrode design and a single droplet-based assay to enhance QCM-based bio-detection. Through extensive experiments, including contact angle analysis, damping, and viscosity measurements, we identified an optimal elliptical electrode design for single droplet-based liquid sensing. Using QCM crystals coated with molecularly imprinted polydopamine (MIPDA) sensing films containing recognition sites for detecting pepsin as a model protein, we demonstrate that QCM crystals with elliptical electrodes exhibit up to 10 times higher sensitivity than the industry-standard 1-inch circular QCM crystal. Additionally, the optimized QCM crystals showed linear sensitivity over a wider volume range, providing consistent detection at 250 Hz/μl compared to the circular crystal's narrower range at 50 Hz/μl. These findings establish a foundation for next-generation QCM platforms with superior sensitivity, reduced sample requirements, and broader adaptability, paving the way for advancements in biomedical diagnostics and environmental monitoring.},
keywords = {Deionised Water, DI Water, Elliptical Electrodes, Liquid Droplet Detection, openQCM Q-1, Protein Sensing, QCM, Quartz Crystal Microbalance},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
