Thickness shear mode (TSM) resonators used for biosensing

The Auburn University Detection and Food Safety Center has demonstrated real-time biosensor for the detection of Salmonella typimhurium, consisting of a thickness shear-mode (TSM) quartz resonator with antibodies immobilized in a Langmuir-Blodgett surface film. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of bound Salmonella bacteria to both polished and unpolished TSM resonators were taken to correlate the mass of the bound organism to the Sauerbrey equation. Theoretical frequency shifts for unpolished TSM resonators predicted by the Sauerbrey equation are much smaller than experimentally measured frequency shift. The Salmonella detector operates in a liquid environment. The viscous properties of this liquid overlayer could influence the TSM resonator's response. Various liquid media were studied as a function of temperature (0 to 50 degree(s)C). The chicken exudate samples with varying fat content show coagulation occurring at temperatures above 35 degree(s)C. Kinematic viscosity test were performed with buffer solutions containing varying quantities of Salmonella bacteria. Since the TSM resonators only entrain a boundary layer of fluid near the surface, they do not respond to these background viscous property changes. Bilk viscosity increases when bacteria concentrations are high. This paper describes investigations of TSM resonator surface acoustic interactions - mass, fluid viscosity, and viscoelasticity - that affect the sensor.