Impedance characterization of a piezoelectric immunosensor part II: Salmonella typhimurium detection using magnetic enhancement.

This study investigated the usefulness and characteristics of a 5-MHz quartz crystal resonator as a sensor of biological pathogens such as Salmonella typhimurium. An impedance analyzer measured the impedance behavior of the oscillating quartz crystal exposed to various concentrations of Salmonella (10(2)-10(8) cells per ml). The Salmonella cells were captured by antibody-coated paramagnetic microspheres, and then these complexes were moved magnetically to the sensing quartz and were captured by antibodies immobilized on the crystal surface. The response of the crystal was expressed in terms of equivalent circuit parameters. The motional inductance and the motional resistance increased as a function of the concentration of Salmonella. The viscous damping was the main contributor to the resistance and the inductance in a liquid environment. The load resistance was the most effective and sensitive circuit parameter. A magnetic force was a useful method to collect the complexes of Salmonella-microspheres on the crystal surface and enhance the response of the sensor. In this system, the detection limit, based on resistance monitoring, was about 10(3) cells per ml.

Impedance characterization of a piezoelectric immunosensor. Part I: antibody coating and buffer solution.

This study investigated the impedance characteristics of a 5 MHz quartz crystal resonator oscillating in a thickness-shear mode for utilization as a biosensor. An impedance analyzer measured the impedance of the quartz crystal, which determined all mechanical properties of the oscillating quartz and its immediate environment. In this study, the impedance behavior of the oscillating crystal was characterized in air, in potassium phosphate buffer solution, and with immobilization of antibodies using protein-A. The potassium phosphate buffer behaved like a Newtonian liquid. The series resonance frequency shifted down about 900 Hz on contact with the buffer. An immobilized-antibody layer on the quartz surface behaved like a rigid mass when immersed in the buffer solution. The impedance curve following immobilization of antibodies was shifted down in frequency by about 200 Hz compared with its value when the bare crystal was immersed in the buffer solution.