Bulk and Surface Acoustic Wave Biosensors
• Milk and Dairy products are common foods and undergo regular inspections for the quantification of
specific products present.
• These products range from Carbohydrates, Proteins, Fats and any impurities.
• Bulk and Surface Acoustic Wave sensors such as Quartz Crystal Microbalance(QCM) and Surface
Acoustic Wave(SAW) devices are used for analysis.
• A QCM is an extremely sensitive mass balance than can measure changes in mass up to a nanogram
level. At its heart, QCM uses a Quartz disc that is made to oscillate at a defined frequency by
applying appropriate voltage using electrodes.
• The frequency of oscillation changes with addition or removal of mass from the electrodes. The
change in frequency is monitored to obtain useful information such as film growth, oxidation,
corrosion etc.
Bulk and Surface Acoustic Wave Biosensors
• SAW devices normally use one or
more interdigital transducers (IDTs) to
convert acoustic waves to electrical
signals and vice versa by exploiting the
piezoelectric effect.
• The acoustic wave propagates on the
surface of the piezoelectric substrate,
where it is excited and received by
IDTs.
• The phase and amplitude shifts of the
SAW wave are then recorded.
Testing Milk Samples with BAW and SAW
Biosensors
• Bulk and surface acoustic wave
biosensors mainly use antibodies,
aptamers, and molecularly imprinted
polymers (MIPs) as biorecognition
elements for analyte detection in milk
samples.
• The fastest and easiest way to detect
the target analyte is direct detection,
i.e., the analyte binding on the
biosensor surface coated with analyte-
specific capture molecules results in a
signal response.
• However, a significant signal response
requires a certain size and amount of
analyte binding on the surface.
Determination of Fat Content
Milk fat may interfere with the acoustic sensor measurements, which is why the fat is
typically removed.
First, the fat is removed using organic solvent mixtures.
Then an uncoated QCM sensor with gold-plated electrodes is used for fat detection.
The results obtained with whole milk, low fat, or skim milk samples containing between
1% and 25% fat were similar to those obtained with reference fat determination
methods.
Detection of Proteins in Milk
Proteins are usually high-molecular-weight compounds; therefore,
they can principally be detected directly using acoustic biosensors
without additional measures.
QCM sensors coated with aminated titanium dioxide are used for the
detection of phosphoproteins. Phosphoproteins comprise >80% of
milk proteins.
Detection of Low-Molecular-Weight Compounds in
Milk
• Most of the procedures for preparing milk samples for the detection of low-
molecular-weight compounds use means to remove fat and proteins, such
as the addition of additives for protein precipitation, followed by
centrifugation or filtration steps.
• Small analytes will be found in the filtrate collected afterward.
• Direct detection of low-molecular-weight compounds is challenging,
especially when dealing with low concentrations, because of the reduced
mass loading. Therefore, QCM sensors for direct detection of such analytes
used coatings with a high or increased binding capacity, such as MIPs.
Conclusions
• Acoustic biosensors are in the minority compared with electrochemical
or optical biosensors.
• BAW and SAW biosensors have successfully been used to detect a
variety of different analytes in relevant concentrations milk.
• Particularly high analyte concentrations can easily be detected with
acoustic biosensors, whereas for lower concentrations and multi-
analyte detection, further developments are required for acoustic
biosensors to keep up with standard detection methods.
