Real-time multianalyte biosensors based on interference-free multichannel monolithic quartz crystal microbalance

Acoustic wave resonators have become suitable devices for a broad range of sensing applications due to their sensitivity, low cost, and integration capability, which are all factors that meet the requirements for the resonators to be used as sensing elements for portable point of care (PoC) platforms. In this work, the design, characterization, and validation of a 150 MHz high fundamental frequency quartz crystal microbalance (HFF-QCM) sensor for bio-sensing applications are introduced. Finite element method (FEM) simulations of the proposed design are in good agreement with the electrical characterization of the manufactured resonators. The sensor is also validated for bio-sensing applications. For this purpose, a specific sensor cell was designed and manufactured that addresses the critical requirements associated with this type of sensor and application. Due to the small sensing area and the sensor’s fragility, these requirements include a low-volume flow chamber in the nanoliter range, and a system approach that provides the appropriate pressure control for assuring liquid confinement while maintaining the integrity of the sensor with a good base line stability and easy sensor replacement. The sensor characteristics make it suitable for consideration as the elemental part of a sensor matrix in a multichannel platform for point of care applications.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Validation of a 150 MHz HFFQCM Sensor for Bio-Sensing Applications

Fernandez¹,

Bou-Belda²,

García³

et al. 2017

“…In the past decades, many researchers have studied and reported the designing and fabrication method or sensing applications on monolithic multichannel QCMs or QCM array [11,12,13,14]. In the case of monolithic dual-channel or multichannel QCM, the suppression of mechanical vibration coupling should be the most important issue, which is the prerequisite for the reference QCM to be as [15,16]. The frequency interference is mainly determined by the spacing between adjacent electrodes, the dimensions and thickness of each electrode, and geometry and frequencies of quartz resonators [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Flow Injection Based High Frequency Dual Channel Quartz Crystal Microbalance

Liang

Zhang

Zhou

et al. 2017

When the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is used in liquid for adsorption or desorption monitoring based bio- or chemical sensing applications, the frequency shift is not only determined by the surface mass change, but also by the change of liquid characteristics, such as density and viscosity, which are greatly affected by the liquid environmental temperature. A monolithic dual-channel QCM is designed and fabricated by arranging two QCM resonators on one single chip for cancelling the fluctuation induced by environmental factors. In actual applications, one QCM works as a specific sensor by modifying with functional membranes and the other acts as a reference, only measuring the liquid property. The dual-channel QCM is designed with an inverted-mesa structure, aiming to realize a high frequency miniaturized chip and suppress the frequency interference between the neighbored QCM resonators. The key problem of dual-channel QCMs is the interference between two channels, which is influenced by the distance of adjacent resonators. The diameter of the reference electrode has been designed into several values in order to find the optimal parameter. Experimental results demonstrated that the two QCMs could vibrate individually and the output frequency stability and drift can be greatly improved with the aid of the reference QCM.

“…For instance, a circular flow chamber on a monolithic QCM with 2 × 2 sensing areas showed a highly turbulent flow leading to inconsistent sensor responses. A fluidic channel addressing the sensing areas subsequently was required to obtain reproducible results [104,105].…”

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The analyte proteins bound preferably on surfaces with the corresponding binding partners, while nonspecific binding was observed only to a small extent. As the research focused mainly on the functionality of the newly introduced array setups, comparatively high analyte concentrations were applied, ranging from several to several hundred µg/mL [34,105].…”

Section: Qcm Bio-and Chemosensor Arraysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bulk and Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor Arrays for Multi-Analyte Detection: A Review

Länge

2019

Bulk acoustic wave (BAW) and surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor devices have successfully been used in a wide variety of gas sensing, liquid sensing, and biosensing applications. Devices include BAW sensors using thickness shear modes and SAW sensors using Rayleigh waves or horizontally polarized shear waves (HPSWs). Analyte specificity and selectivity of the sensors are determined by the sensor coatings. If a group of analytes is to be detected or if only selective coatings (i.e., coatings responding to more than one analyte) are available, the use of multi-sensor arrays is advantageous, as the evaluation of the resulting signal patterns allows qualitative and quantitative characterization of the sample. Virtual sensor arrays utilize only one sensor but combine it with enhanced signal evaluation methods or preceding sample separation, which results in similar results as obtained with multi-sensor arrays. Both array types have shown to be promising with regard to system integration and low costs. This review discusses principles and design considerations for acoustic multi-sensor and virtual sensor arrays and outlines the use of these arrays in multi-analyte detection applications, focusing mainly on developments of the past decade.