@article{hardware4010004,

title = {Development of a Low-Cost, Open-Source Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation Monitoring for Potential Biomedical Applications},

author = {Gabriel G. Muñoz and Martín J. Millicovsky and Albano Peñalva and Juan I. Cerrudo and Juan M. Reta and Martín A. Zalazar},

url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2813-6640/4/1/4},

doi = {10.3390/hardware4010004},

issn = {2813-6640},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-02-02},

urldate = {2026-01-01},

journal = {Hardware},

volume = {4},

number = {1},

abstract = {Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) systems are widely used for the real-time analysis of mass changes and viscoelastic properties in biological samples, enabling applications such as biomolecular interaction studies, biosensing, and fluid characterization. However, their accessibility has been limited by high acquisition costs. To address this limitation, a low-cost, open-source QCM-D system was developed. Unlike other affordable, open-hardware alternatives, this system is specifically optimized for potential biomedical applications by integrating active thermal control to preserve the physical properties of the samples and dissipation monitoring to characterize their viscoelastic behavior. A 10 MHz quartz crystal with a sensor module and a control and acquisition unit were integrated. The full system was built at a total cost below USD 500. Performance validation showed a temperature stability of ±0.13 °C, a frequency stability of ±2 Hz in air, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.46% polyethylene glycol (PEG), thereby enabling stable, reproducible measurements and the sensitive detection of small mass and interfacial changes in low-concentration samples. These results demonstrate that key QCM-D sensing capabilities can be achieved at a fraction of the cost, providing an accessible and reliable platform for potential biomedical research.},

keywords = {Biosensing, monitoring, openQCM sensors, Piezoelectric sensor, real-time, temperature control, Viscoelastic Properties},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{KimJeonParkLeeLee+2025,

title = {Revealing the interfacial dynamics of Escherichia coli growth and biofilm formation with integrated micro- and macro-scale approaches},

author = {Haneum Kim and Eunseo Jeon and Jeongmi Park and Kibaek Lee and Doojin Lee},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1515/arh-2025-0031},

doi = {doi:10.1515/arh-2025-0031},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-12},

urldate = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Applied Rheology},

volume = {35},

number = {1},

pages = {20250031},

keywords = {biofilm growth and formation, Dissipation, interfacial dynamics, interfacial rheology, openQCM Q-1, QCM-D, Quartz Crystal Microbalance, surface adhesion, Viscoelastic Properties},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{matsumoto4096144rheology,

title = {Rheology of the Electric Double Layer In Ionic Liquid Solutions: Effects of Ion Concentration and Anion Structures},

author = {Atsushi Matsumoto and Ryota Yoshizawa and Riccardo Funari and Osamu Urakawa and Tadashi Inoue and Amy Q Shen},

url = {https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4096144},

doi = {https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4096144},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-04-28},

urldate = {2022-04-28},

journal = {Available at SSRN 4096144},

abstract = {Ionic liquids (IL) are molten salts with melting temperatures below 100°C. Combined with other unique properties such as high thermal and electrochemical stability, non-volatility and high ionic conductivity, they have been used as electrolytes in batteries and lubricants, where the viscoelasticity of the electric double layer (EDL) plays an important role. Due to the small length scale of EDL thickness, it has been challenging to characterize their viscoelastic properties at nanoscale. Herein, by using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), we measure the changes in the resonant frequency and energy dissipation of a gold-coated quartz crystal on which IL solutions are deposited. Since the gold surface of the quartz crystal is negatively charged at an open circuit potential, we can estimate the loss modulus of the EDL near the charged surface through a wave propagation model. Using this approach, we investigate the viscoelastic properties of the EDL formed on the quartz crystal from three ionic liquids with different anions: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Bmim-TFSI); 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate (Bmim-TfO); 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (Bmim-BF4). We find that the loss modulus of the EDL increases rapidly with increasing ionic liquid concentrations in the low concentration regime, but reaches about 3 orders of magnitude larger than the loss modulus of the bulk solution in the higher concentration regime. This behavior is independent of the type of anions. Our results can provide useful information on the rheological properties of the EDL in IL solutions, optimizing IL-based material design with improved system performances.},

keywords = {Electric Double Layer, Electrostatic Screening, Ionic Liquid, openQCM Q-1, Quartz Crystal Microbalance, Rheology, Viscoelastic Properties},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}