Date of Award

12-2004

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Massood Z. Atashbar

Second Advisor

Dr. Bruce Bejcek

Third Advisor

Dr. John Gesink

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Quartz Crystal Microbalances (QCMs) have been widely used for detection of various chemical and biological species in liquid media. In this work an improved binding of Protein A and IgG molecules on QCM biosensors by modifying the gold surface of the quartz crystal with an ultra thin polystyrene film followed by an acidic treatment has been reported. Protein A and IgG immobilizations on quartz crystals with the polystyrene film represented a 65% increase and a 40% increase respectively when compared to immobilization done directly onto the crystals. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been used to investigate and study the biomolecular coverage on different substrates. The results obtained using QCM and AFM are analyzed and correlated together. Simulation and modeling of the acoustic wave sensors is done using ANSYS 6.1 to enhance the understanding of the sensing phenomena and the design parameters of the sensor.

Share

COinS