In vitro real-time characterization of cell attachment and spreading

A method based on the piezoelectric quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique for in vitro real-time characterization of cell attachment and spreading on surfaces has been developed. The method simultaneously measures the resonant frequency, f, and the dissipation energy, D, of the oscillating system. The QCM responses are sensitive to very small amounts (a few hundreds) of cells and highly specific to surface chemical properties. The first results from deposition of cells on two polystyrene surfaces of different wettability in serum-containing medium are reported. It has previously been shown that a decrease in f is related to the degree of cell spreading. In our data it appears that the extent or quality of cell attachment is reflected in an increase in D caused by adhering cells. The combined information from f and D measured by this technique might therefore be useful to probe cell-surface interactions for biomaterials.