The piezoelectric sensor (quartz crystal microbalance, QCM) was used to monitor cell adhesion in real time. Two cell lines, rat epithelial cells (WB F344) and lung melanoma cells (B16F10) were used. The cells were adhered and grown on the gold surface of the sensor pre-coated with adsorbed layer of extracellular matrix proteins as vitronectin and laminin. The process of cell attachment and spreading on the gold surface was continuously monitored and displayed by changes of the resonant frequency Deltaf and resistance DeltaR values of the piezoelectric resonators. The initial phase of cell attachment and spreading induced a decrease of frequency and increase of resistance relating viscoelastic properties of the cell monolayer on the sensing surface. The steady-state of both shifts was achieved after a few hours. The presence and state of cells on the surface was confirmed by fluorescent microscopy. The obtained results demonstrate that the piezoelectric sensor is suitable for studies of the cell adhesion processes. Thus obtained cell-based biosensor has potential for identification and screening of biologically active drugs and other biomolecules affecting cellular shape and attachment.

Department of Biochemistry Masaryk University Kotlárská 2 61137 Brno Czech Republic

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Piezoelectric biosensors: shedding light on principles and applications