title: 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.
authors.affiliation: IBB-Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre for Molecular and Structural Biomedicine, University of the Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana-Carina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Da-Silva
authors.forename: Rogério
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: Luís F M
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de-Carvalho
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tomé
authors.forename: Guilherme N M
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002470:Cell Survival; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D058525:Quartz Crystal Microbalance Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free