Quartz crystal microbalance as a sensing active element for rupture scanning within frequency band

A new method based on the use of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) as an active sensing element is developed, optimized and tested in a model system to measure the rupture force and deduce size distribution of nanoparticles. As suggested by model predictions, the QCM is shaped as a strip. The ratio of rupture signals at the second and the third harmonics versus the geometric position of a body on QCM surface is investigated theoretically. Recommendations concerning the use of the method for measuring the nanoparticle size distribution are presented. It is shown experimentally for an ensemble of test particles with a characteristic size within 20–30 nm that the proposed method allows one to determine particle size distribution. On the basis of the position and value of the measured rupture signal, a histogram of particle size distribution and percentage of each size fraction were determined. The main merits of the bond-rupture method are its rapid response, simplicity and the ability to discriminate between specific and non-specific interactions. The method is highly sensitive with respect to mass (the sensitivity is generally dependent on the chemical nature of receptor and analyte and may reach 8 × 10−14 g mm−2) and applicable to measuring rupture forces either for weak bonds, for example hydrogen bonds, or for strong covalent bonds (10−11–10−9 N). This procedure may become a good alternative for the existing methods, such as AFM or optical methods of determining biological objects, and win a broad range of applications both in laboratory research and in biosensing for various purposes. Possible applications include medicine, diagnostics, environmental or agricultural monitoring.