Biomimetic Thin Films as a QCM-D Sensor Platform to Detect Macromolecular Interactions

Biomimetic thin films have great utility as sensor platforms for biological studies. In particular, cell-membrane-mimicking thin films composed of phospholipids have helped to provide insight into a range of macromolecular recognition events associated with important biological processes. To detect these interactions, the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) technique possesses the unique ability to simultaneously probe in real time the mass and viscoelastic property changes of biomimetic thin films. In this chapter, we first discuss QCM-D measurement principles. Thereafter, we examine how the QCM-D sensor has been applied to characterize different biomimetic thin films over the course of their self-assembly and subsequent interactions with biological macromolecules. In summary, this chapter demonstrates the effectiveness and versatility of biomimetic thin films coupled to the QCM-D sensor platform for studying macromolecular interactions.