Evaluation of the specific adsorption of biotinylated microbubbles using a quartz crystal microbalance

Specific adsorption of biotinylated microbubbles to streptavidin was evaluated by measuring the resonant frequency of an AT-cut quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). Streptavidin was fixed via self-assembled monolayers coated onto the QCM electrode. The resonant frequency of the QCM decreased as a result of specific adsorption of the biotinylated microbubbles, compared with the results for microbubbles containing no biotin. Additionally, there was significant evidence indicating that the frequency shift was caused by the internal gas of the microbubble, as well as the mass of the outer-shell material surrounding the gas. These results suggest that the QCM measurement system can be used effectively to evaluate the specific adsorption of targeted microbubbles.