openQCM Quartz Crystal Microbalance electronic design is finally released using the free software KiCAD. Thanks to Martin Zalazar, Christian Mista and all the guys working at the Lab of electronic prototyping and 3D printing of the Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos UNER – Argentina Great thanks for being an active part of the openQCM community ! Continue reading
openQCM quartz crystal microbalance press review
The openQCM is really proud to share the latest reviews about the open source quartz crystal microbalance. This is also the opportunity to give thanks to people supporting the openQCM project. Continue reading
openQCM has a temperature sensor with high accuracy based on thermistor and Arduino. The Quartz Crystal Microbalance accuracy depends on temperature.
openQCM the open source quartz crystal microbalance project has an Arduino electronic board inside the heart
openQCM is the fully open source quartz crystal microbalance project with an Arduino electronic board inside its heart Continue reading
In this post I discuss in detail the development of Java application for the open source quartz crystal microbalance openQCM. This post is intended for developers and contributors of the open source project. The entire project is available on github repository at this link Continue reading
openQCM is a scientific as much as a smart device based on the quartz crystal microbalance technology. A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is a surface sensitive technology capable of measuring phenomena at molecular scale. Thanks to its unique and flexible characteristics, the quartz crystal microbalance has a wide range of applications in the field of chemistry, biology and material sciences. It is like an entire laboratory on the surface of a crystal.
The QCM sensor is based on the piezoelectric properties of the quartz crystal. The application of an alternating current causes the mechanical vibration of the quartz crystal in the MHz range. The QCM technique measures the variations in quartz frequency for measuring the mass variations on its surface. A quartz crystal is capable to sense mass variations down to 0.1 nanograms. It is a very flexible technology because it can be used in any experimental conditions such as air, vacuum and liquid environments. Frequency measurements are commonly made with high precision making QCM an highly sensitive analytical device.
openQCM Wi2 has a wide area of practical applications. It is useful for monitoring the realtime variations of thin film deposition in any ambient conditions. Then QCM is very effective in measuring adsorption-desorption of molecular layers, SAM selfassemblied monolayer, swelling rates, hydratation of thin film. It is also useful for sensing molecular structural changes caused by chemical reactions on its surface. QCM could be used as a tunable gas sensor and for monitoring the aerosol deposition in ambient conditions. The applications in liquid environment show enormous potentiality. QCM is very effective in measuring binding events on functionalized surface, such as antigen-antibody binding and protein-protein interactions. It is a powerful tool in life sciences, being able to sense DNA hybridization and specific drug compounds. These are just a few example of the possible applications of quartz crystal microbalance for your own research. The real question is: What you can do with an entire laboratory in the palm of your hand ?
Quartz Crystal Microbalance openQCM design by Glenda Torres Guizado and 3D print by Sculpteo
Hi everybody,
This is my first post on the openQCM blog, so I introduce myself. I am Marco, scientific coordinator at Novaetech S.r.l. and now co-founder of the openQCM project the unique open source quartz crystal microbalance. Above all I am a lucky man because I really enjoy my work. Continue reading
