Nano-Honeycomb Electrode-Based QCM Sensor and Its Application for PPI Detection

An anodic aluminon oxide-based nano-honeycomb electrode was fabricated on a quartz crystal to increase the surface area binding with an analyte for using as a sensing device in a quartz crystal microbalance to monitor the protein-protein interactions (PPIs). As examples, we detected PPIs of anti-Bcl-2 and Bcl-2, and Bcl-2 and Bax in real time. A sensor with a flat Au electrode showed a tiny frequency shift upon sample injection. However, our fabricated device could detect Bcl-2 and Bax in sequence. Frequency shifts corresponding to the binding of Bcl-2 to anti Bcl-2 and that of Bax to Bcl-2 increased linearly.