A Multichannel Microfluidic Sensing Cartridge for Bioanalytical Applications of Monolithic Quartz Crystal Microbalance

Integrating acoustic wave sensors into lab-on-a-chip (LoC) devices is a well-known challenge. We address this challenge by designing a microfluidic device housing a monolithic array of 24 high-fundamental frequency quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (HFF-QCMD) sensors. The device features six 6-mu L channels of four sensors each for low-volume parallel measurements, a sealing mechanism that provides appropriate pressure control while assuring liquid confinement and maintaining good stability, and provides a mechanical, electrical, and thermal interface with the characterization electronics. We validate the device by measuring the response of the HFF-QCMD sensors to the air-to-liquid transition, for which the robust Kanazawa-Gordon-Mason theory exists, and then by studying the adsorption of model bioanalytes (neutravidin and biotinylated albumin). With these experiments, we show how the effects of the protein-surface interactions propagate within adsorbed protein multilayers, offering essentially new insight into the design of affinity-based bioanalytical sensors.