Adhesion of human osteoprogenitor cells on peptide immobilization onto titanium monitored a quartz crystal resonator technique

The thickness shear mode (TSM) quartz crystal resonator has been extensively used as sensitive sensor in various electrochemical and biological applications. This technique is based on the transverse propagation of an acoustic shear wave generated by a sinusoidal electric field through a piezoelectric quartz resonator. Its provides a non destructive and powerful mean for probing changes at solid-solid or solid-liquid interfaces, and for characterizing specific cell-substrate interactions. In the present work, we show the results obtained by using the thickness shear mode sensor based technique to characterize activation of human osteoprogenitor (HOP) cells on different peptide immobilization on titanium. We have measured the time evolution of a quartz electric characteristic: the motional resistance in the vicinity of the mechanical sensor resonant frequency. The quartz crystal resonator was coated with different biomaterials to test the cell adhesion: hydroxyapatite, the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) adhesion sequence, type I collagen and untreated titanium as a reference. The effects of a progressive induced activation for HOP adhesion on peptide immobilization on titanium were analyzed and finally discussed in the frame of a possible application in the biomaterial field such as bone prostheses