Investigation of Multilayered Protein Adsorption on Carbonate Apatite with a QCM Technique

Abstract

This study is concerned with multilayered protein adsorption on carbonate apatite (CAp) that is measured with a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique. A carbonate apatite-deposited QCM sensor was prepared by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). On the CAp-deposited QCM sensor, fibrinogen adsorption followed by thrombin adsorption was investigated. The adsorption of fibrinogen on CAp led to a clear decrease in the resonance frequency of the sensor, which means that fibrinogen adsorbed on the CAp-deposited QCM sensor. The adsorbed amount of fibrinogen was larger on CAp than on a pristine sensor (Au). Although successive thrombin adsorption occurred on fibrinogen adlayers on both CAp and Au, the adsorbed amount and its conformation were different depending on the surface.