Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Sample Preparation in Quartz Crystal Microbalance Measurements of Protein Adsorption and Polymer Mechanics
Published on: January 22, 2020
Detection and binding interactions of pharmaceutical contaminants using quartz crystal microbalance - Role of
Philomena Oluwatosin Olaniyan1, Md-Masuduzzaman Nadim1, Mahamud Subir1
1Department of Chemistry, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA.
Hypothesis:
Emerging contaminants (ECs) can interact with soft solid/aqueous interfaces of particulate organic matter and microplastics in the aquatic environment but to what extent? It is hypothesized that EC adsorption can be detected using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), a sensitive gravimetric tool, and their adsorption energetics and uptake capacity can be measured for various substrates of distinct functional group. This in turn reveals the specific vs. nonspecific interactions.
Experiments:
QCM has been used to detect and measure the adsorption of selected pharmaceuticals, amlodipine (AMP) and carbamazepine (CBZ), onto butyl, carboxyl, amine, and phenyl functionalized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), mapping out the hydrophobic effect, H-bonding capability, and π- interactions. Adsorption free energy (ΔGads) and maximum interfacial concentration (cmax) for these surfaces are compared. Solvatochromic studies to elucidate the likelihood of H-bonding interactions for CBZ and AMP have been conducted using UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy.
Findings:
Amlodipine and carbamazepine adsorb onto butyl/aqueous interface with respective ΔGads values of -35.8 ± 1.1 and -37.7 ± 0.1 kJ/mol. Nonspecific interaction allows a greater extent of cmax on the hydrophobic/aqueous interface. CBZ does not bind to the phenyl surface. AMP and CBZ exhibit H-bonding and show proclivity for the amine and carboxyl SAMs. Interfacial chemical environment and adsorbate structural properties play a significant role on EC adsorption.
More Related Videos
07:11Dissipative Microgravimetry to Study the Binding Dynamics of the Phospholipid Binding Protein Annexin A2 to Solid-supported Lipid Bilayers Using a Quartz Resonator
Published on: November 1, 2018
08:31Biosensor-based High Throughput Biopanning and Bioinformatics Analysis Strategy for the Global Validation of Drug-protein Interactions
Published on: December 1, 2020
Related Concept Videos
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Types of Detectors
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy: Interference
Spectral interference occurs when signals from other elements or molecules overlap with the analyte signal, falsely elevating or masking the analyte's absorbance. This interference can be corrected using Zeeman,...