A press-to-contact acoustic sensor for measuring elasticity and ageing of extracellular matrix

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel acoustic method using a quartz crystal microbalance to rapidly and reliably measure the elasticity and aging of extracellular matrix, with strong correlation to tissue type and age.

Contribution

It presents a press-to-contact acoustic sensing technique that accurately assesses ECM elasticity and aging, advancing tissue characterization methods.

Findings

Acoustic response correlates with tissue type and age.

Method provides rapid and reliable elasticity measurements.

QCM-based approach detects ECM aging effectively.

Abstract

We report an acoustic approach to measure the elastic properties of an extracellular matrix (ECM). This approach uses a short range evanescent waves to inject sound into the test material over a short distance using an electroded quartz crystal, also known as a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). These measurements are applied with a press-to-contact approach to determine the elastic properties reliably and rapidly. The elasticity of ECM is connected to material chemistry which is linked to the tissue type and history. Measuring the minimum relative amplitude of the signal from the QCM shows that the acoustic response is strongly correlated to tissue type and age.