Practical Use of Quartz Crystal Microbalance Monitoring in Cartilage Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is a real-time, nanogram-accurate technique for analyzing various processes on biomaterial surfaces. QCM has proven to be an excellent tool in tissue engineering as it can monitor key parameters in developing cellular scaffolds. This review focuses on the use of QCM in the tissue engineering of cartilage. It begins with a brief discussion of biomaterials and the current state of the art in scaffold development for cartilage tissue engineering, followed by a summary of the potential uses of QCM in cartilage tissue engineering. This includes monitoring interactions with extracellular matrix components, adsorption of proteins onto biomaterials, and biomaterial–cell interactions. In the last part of the review, the material selection problem in tissue engineering is highlighted, emphasizing the importance of surface nanotopography, the role of nanofilms, and utilization of QCM to as a “screening” tool to improve the material selection process. A step-by-step process for scaffold design is proposed, as well as the fabrication of thin nanofilms in a layer-by-layer manner using QCM. Finally, future trends of QCM application as a “screening” method for 3D printing of cellular scaffolds are envisioned.

Comparison of the Adsorption of Linear and Cyclic Antimicrobial Peptides Onto Cellulosic Compounds-Reinforced Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Films Using Qcm-D

“…Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) is a technique used to quantify the amount of peptide bound to the surface of biomaterials and to examine events of molecule-surface interaction in real-time [15]. In QCM-D, the deposition of a substance on the surface of a sensor decreases its resonating frequency and, depending on the viscoelastic properties of the tested molecules, changes the energy dissipation [16].…”