Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) is an analytical technique that enables real-time, label-free measurement of changes in mass and viscoelastic properties at surfaces in a liquid environment. This technique is used to study molecular interactions, thin film behavior, and surface dynamics. QCM-D accelerates research, improves product performance, and solves complex surface-related challenges across diverse market segments, including:
Pharmaceuticals & Drug Development:
QCM-D provides kinetic data about drug stability, interaction mechanisms, formulations, and delivery systems. QCM-D has been used to study:
Kinetics of drug binding to a wide range of surfaces that a drug is likely to encounter, including plastics, polymers, glass, and metals.
Stability of drugs in real time.
Interaction of drug-loaded delivery systems such as liposomes, micelles, or polymeric nanoparticles with surfaces, providing insights into drug release kinetics and targeting efficiency.
Efficacy and density of surface modifications such as PEGylation, which are often used to reduce non-specific binding.
Interactions between viruses or virus-like particles with their corresponding receptors that plays a vital role in vaccine development.
Functionalization of biosensor chips to improve selectivity, reduce fouling, and enhance signal stability in biosensor development.1
Food & Beverage Science:
QCM-D aids in the development of food ingredients, visual appeal and flavor, food engineering and processing and food safety and storage. QCM-D plays a vital role in the food science industry by:
Optimizing food appearance and flavor by discerning how molecules interact, cluster, or repel each other within food matrices.
Developing quantitative mouth assay platforms for sweetness perception and lingering sweetness. This has the potential to replace subjective taste panels with a more rigorous and scientific method.
Facilitating the understanding of fouling mechanisms in real time as molecular layers are deposited onto various processing equipment surfaces.
Determining cleaning mechanisms for fouled surfaces in processing equipment. The rate of degradation, the total amount of soil removed as well as insight into the swelling process of the soil can be extracted, all of which are related to the cleaning mechanism.
Assessing the effectiveness of anti-fouling coatingsby their resistance to protein adsorption and bacterial attachment.
Characterizing the interaction of proteins and polysaccharides with emulsifiers or stabilizers.
Chemical:
QCM-D provides chemical manufacturers and formulators with the ability to monitor dynamic surface interactions such as surface adsorption/desorption, reaction kinetics, and thin film deposition that can support the development of advanced formulations, catalysts, surfactants, and specialty chemicals. QCM-D can quantify the removal of materials from surfaces in real time, enabling the evaluation of cleaning efficiency of industrial cleaning agents and etching/corrosion on metals and oxides. Real-time QCM-D data of material depositions can help optimize surface coatings and fine-tune layer-by-layer assembly or thin film deposition.
Semiconductor:
In semiconductor manufacturing, QCM-D is used for analyzing surface coatings, monitoring thin film growth, characterizing interfacial adhesion, and evaluating chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), also called chemical mechanical planarization. More specifically, QCM-D is used to:
Optimize CMP slurry formulation by controlling the type and concentration of surfactants, polymers, inhibitors, and abrasives.
Evaluate post-CMP residue cleaning procedures.
Monitor photoresist degradation in real-time by tracking film thinning, delamination, or chemical breakdown.
Characterize Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) by monitoring the layer-by-layer mass changes allowing precise analysis of film growth rates, precursor saturation, and surface reaction dynamics.2
Energy Storage:
QCM-D assists in the development of new battery materials for cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, and additivesby studying electrochemical behavior, mass adsorption events, electrolyte decomposition, film formation, and interfacial interactions. Battery solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, growth, and stability can be characterized in real time, providing insights into interfacial mass changes and mechanical properties critical for battery performance and longevity. Electrolyte performance screening can be assessed to improve overall battery performance.
Oil & Gas:
Deposition monitoring and buildup on pipeline surfaces, corrosion, and surfactant behavior at interfaces is vital for oil flow assurance and surface treatment optimization. QCM-D can monitor the adhesion and buildup of asphaltene and wax deposition on pipeline surfaces as well as the effect that inhibitive chemistries can have on this process. Scaling and salt deposition can be characterized. Real-time interactions between surfactants or wettability modifiers and rock and minerals surfaces can be studied to improve enhanced oil recovery (EOR) efforts. QCM-D evaluates the performance of protective films for anti-corrosion coating under simulated brine or hydrocarbon exposure.
Medical Devices:
QCM-D contributes to the development of medical devices by assessing the biocompatibility of surfaces and surface coatings, biofouling resistance, and optimizing device performance. QCM-D is used to optimize the surfaces of medical devices by:
Monitoring the interaction between proteins, cells, or extracellular materials and different materials, which are key indicators of biocompatibility.
Characterizing thin film surface modification such as anti-thrombogenic layers and drug-eluting coatings.
Studying cell adhesion and proliferation on device surfaces.
Investigating immune responses to identify potential complications for implantable devices.
Exploring the effectiveness of cleaning and sterilization procedures.
Determining the resistance of surfaces to bacterial attachment.
Environmental Monitoring & Remediation:
QCM-D supports environmental research and technology development by enabling sensitive detection of pollutant adsorption, biofilm formation, and membrane fouling. It plays a key role in advancing sensor platforms, water treatment materials, and sustainable remediation strategies.
QCM-D can track the adsorption of pollutants like heavy metals, nanomaterials, PFAS, or organics onto functionalized surfaces, mimicking how the materials would behave in real environmental conditions. QCM-D can monitor the adhesion of bacteria and the formation of biofilms in real-time, providing insights into the initial stages of fouling. QCM-D mimics conditions found in water treatment membranes to study fouling mechanisms and cleaning protocols.3
Biotechnology:
QCM-D plays a critical role in life science research by enabling real-time analysis of biomolecular interactions, diagnostic platforms, membrane dynamics, and cellular responses. Its ability to measure both mass changes and mechanical properties makes it ideal for studying complex biological systems at the surface level. QCM-D can measure binding kinetics and affinities of biomolecular interactions such as proteins, antibodies, nucleic acids, lipid bilayers, viruses, bacteria, cells, and other biomolecules, all without labeling.
Summary:
The combination of mass sensitivity and viscoelastic profiling capabilities unique to QCM-D gives it an edge in characterizing dynamic surface processes. With applications in biomolecular affinity, surface coating performance, formulation stability, material interface behavior, and more, QCM-D is driving innovation across both academia and industry.
References:
Görner, A.; Franz, L.; Çanak-Ipek, T.; Avci-Adali, M.; Marel, A.-K. Development of an Aptamer-Based QCM-D Biosensor for the Detection of Thrombin Using Supported Lipid Bilayers as Surface Functionalization. Biosensors2024, 14 (6), 270. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios14060270. ↩︎
Xie, X.; Zanders, D.; Preischel, F.; de los Arcos, T.; Devi, A.; Grundmeier, G. Complementary Spectroscopic and Electrochemical Analysis of the Sealing of Micropores in Hexamethyldisilazane Plasma Polymer Films by al2O3 Atomic Layer Deposition. Surface and Interface Analysis2023, 55 (12), 886–898. https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.7256. ↩︎
Rudolph-Schöpping, G.; Schagerlöf, H.; Jönsson, A.-S.; Lipnizki, F. Comparison of Membrane Fouling during Ultrafiltration with Adsorption Studied by Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation Monitoring (QCM-D). Journal of Membrane Science2023, 672, 121313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2022.121313. ↩︎
