Real-time QCM-D monitoring of cellular responses to different cytomorphic agents

Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) is used for real-time in situ detection of cytoskeletal changes in live primary endothelial cells in response to different cytomorphic agents; namely, the surfactant Triton-X 100 (TX-100) and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Reproducible dissipation versus frequency (Df) plots provide unique signatures of the interactions between endothelial cells and cytomorphic agents. While the QCM-D response for TX-100 can be described in two steps (changes in the osmotic pressure of the medium prior to observing the expected cell lysis), LPS results in a different single-phase signal. A complementary analysis is carried out to evaluate the possible competitive effects of TX-100 and LPS through the QCM-D response to BAEC stress by analyzing the Df plots obtained. Experiments with non-toxic components (fibronectin or serum) produce a different QCM-D response than that observed for the toxic chemicals, suggesting the use of Df plot signatures for the possible differentiation between cytotoxic or non-cytotoxic effects. Observations obtained by QCM-D signals are confirmed by conducting fluorescence microscopy at the same time. Our results show that a fast (few minutes) sensing response can be obtained in situ and in real-time. The conclusions from this study suggest that QCM-D can potentially be used in biodetection for applications in drug screening tests and diagnosis.