Acoustic detection of cell adhesion on a quartz crystal microbalance

Abstract

An acoustic quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) was used to signal and follow the cell‑adhesion process of epithelial cells [human embryonic kidney(HEK) 293T and cervical cancer (HeLa) and fibroblasts [African Green Monkey kidney cells (COS-7)] onto gold surfaces. Cells were applied on the sensor and grown under serum-free and serum-supplemented culture media. The sensor resonance frequency (Δf) and motional resistance (ΔR) variations were measured during cell growth to monitor cell adhesion processes. Fingerprints of the adhesion processes, generated using the QCM signal, were found to be specific for each cell type while enabling the identification of the phases of the adhesion process. Under serum-free conditions, the deposition of HEK 293T and HeLa cells was characterized by a decrease of Δf with constant ΔR, whereas for COS‑7 cells, this initial deposition was signaled by variations of ΔR at constant Δf. Toward the end of the adhesion process, fingerprints were characterized by a continuous increase of ΔR consistent with the increase in viscoelasticity. The morphology of adherent cells was visualized by fluorescent microscopy, enabling the association of the cell morphology with QCM signals.

NAPPA-Based Nanobiosensors for the Detection of Proteins and of Protein-Protein Interactions Relevant to Cancer

“…Some scholars have developed an acoustic QCM for studying the bio-mechanical and adhesion properties of tumor cells, namely epithelial cells (human embryonic kidney, HEK) 293T and cervical cancer (HeLa) and fibroblasts (African Green Monkey kidney cells, COS-7), deposited onto functionalized gold surfaces. They found QCM signature was unique for each kind of tumor cell line and even characterized the cell growth phase, enabling a precise and detailed identification [16]. Zhou was able to replicate these findings for mammary tumor, demonstrating a unique QCM fingerprint and a peculiar change in viscoelastic, dissipative and resistance properties of the cancer cells [17].…”

Design and Development of Microscale Thickness Shear Mode (TSM) Resonators for Sensing Neuronal Adhesion

“…The stability of AT-cut quartz under temperature change has led to a wide range of applications involving measurement of mass deposition in vacuum. TSM devices can operate in liquid and have been used for a variety of chemical or biosensor applications which include detection and analysis of proteins (serum, neurotransmitters) (Wang and Muthuswamy, 2008), antibodies as well as DNA (Ferreira et al, 2009; Li et al, 2011), self-assembled monolayer (SAMs) (Seker et al, 2016), lipids and cells (neurons, fibroblast, blood cells, neutrophils, bacteria) (Khraiche et al, 2003, 2005; Da-Silva et al, 2012; Khraiche and Muthuswamy, 2012; Zhou et al, 2012; Westas et al, 2015). The first attempts to study adhesion of cells using TSM sensors involved platelet adhesion (Matsuda, 1992).…”

Acoustic detection of cell adhesion to a coated quartz crystal microbalance – implications for studying the biocompatibility of polymers

“…2). This simultaneous variation of both acoustic parameters (Δ f and ΔR) indicates an increase of the mass at the sensor surface and a simultaneous increase of the viscoelastic properties, and is clearly related with the initial and fast settling of cells over the sensor surface [10, 11, 15]. At this stage, while cells are being rapidly deposited (resulting on a variationof resonance frequency), no consistent focal adhesion points have been established, and the cytoskeleton remains to be shaped or remodeled [21].…”

“…A better insight on the cell adhesion phenomenon is given by the acoustic fingerprints (Δ f vs. ΔR profiles), which directly correlate mass changes (Δ f ) with viscoelastic modifications (ΔR) [15]. In this representation, mass increases are shown parallel to the frequency variation axis, and the viscoelastic alterations parallel to the motional resistance axis [16].…”

“…The propagation of transversal acoustic waves through an adherent layer of cells on a QCM can be converted into electrical signals that can be processed, analyzed and quantified [15]. For instance, it can be used to follow the processes of cell attachment and spreading [9, 15–17], to distinguish different cell types and morphologies [15, 18], and to identify different phases of the cell adhesion phenomena [15].…”