2. Biyomedikal Mühendisliğinde Yenilikler Kongresi, İzmir, Turkey, 18 - 19 September 2020, pp.1-5
Abstract Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) is a bulk acoustic wave piezoelectric resonator
device which can be used as a mass sensitive biosensor. Resonance frequency of QCM can
change due to binding of the analyte to the immobilized biorecognition element on QCM surface
assuming factors such as temperature and viscosity of the medium are not changing. Monitoring
of the resonance frequency can be achieved by using an impedance analyzer, especially by
following phase angle peak between the series and parallel resonance frequencies close to the
fundamental resonance mode. High accuracy impedance analysis usually requires bench-top
cumbersome expensive devices. One inexpensive solution is using dedicated mobile instruments
or antenna analyzers although the latter are designed to work at much higher frequencies, can
yield reliable results. In this study, performance comparison of 2 different battery powered
mobile antenna analyzers (AIM-UHF by Array Solutions and Stick 230 by RigExpert) and one
dedicated mobile open source QCM (openQCM) platform was done by comparing the resonance
frequency shift of a QCM resonator with a fundamental resonance frequency of 10 MHz. To do
this data was collected simultaneously from the devices in changing medium viscosity
environment. Glucose was spiked in distilled water in different concentrations, which were being
pumped through flow cells containing QCMs using a multichannel peristaltic pump. Results were
in agreement with the modified Butterworth-Van Dyke equivalent circuit of the QCM in terms
of their response to changing viscosity. When combined with computational methods to increase
the signal to noise ratio, antenna analyzers yield better and more accurate results when compared
to mobile dedicated QCM instruments.