Abstract: A device for detecting environmental contaminants, diseases, and acute medical conditions related to heart failure identifies pathogens or troponins before infection or damage to heart muscles using an ultrasensitive high Q-factor AT-cut quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) that can measure from a single pg to a single fg. The device has a set of five disks of a QCM with a 10 mm diameter and a full coated bottom electrode, with an upper electrode with a center dot with different diameters labelled as 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, and 5 mm. The full coating denoting an electrically continuous thickness of at last one monolayer. Measured parameters from the five disks include Q-factors, impedance, dissipation factors (D) and frequency shift (?f). Q-factors are used to calculate the Allman deviation ?(?) and measured frequencies are converted to mass sensitivity using the Sauerbrey mass sensitivity coefficient (K).

Abstract: A device for cost-effective and sensitive diagnostics is provided to detect environmental contaminants, diseases, and acute medical conditions related to heart failure. The device identifies pathogens or troponins before infection or damage to heart muscles using an ultrasensitive high Q-factor AT-cut quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) that can measure from a single pg to a single fg. The device has a set of five disks of a QCM with a 10 mm diameter and a full coated bottom electrode, with an upper electrode with a center dot with different diameters labelled as 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, and 5 mm. The full coating denoting an electrically continuous thickness of at least one monolayer. Measured parameters from the five disks illustratively include Q-factors, impedance, dissipation factors (D) and frequency shift (?f). Q-factors are used to calculate the Allan deviation ?(?) and measured frequencies are converted to mass sensitivity using the Sauerbrey mass sensitivity coefficient (K).