AT-cut quartz crystals vibrating in the thickness-shear mode (TSM), especially quartz crystal resonators (QCRs), are well known as very efficient mass sensitive systems because of their sensitivity, accuracy, and biofunctionalization capacity. They are highly reliable in the measurement of the mass of deposited samples, in both gas and liquid matrices. Moreover, they offer real-time monitoring, as well as relatively low production and operation costs. These features make mass sensitive systems applicable in a wide range of different applications, including studies on protein and peptide primary packaging, formulation, and drug product manufacturing process development. This review summarizes the information on some particular implementations of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) instruments in protein and peptide drug product development as well as their future prospects.
Keywords: AT-cut crystals; biosensors; peptide aggregation; protein aggregation; protein formulation; quartz crystal microbalance; sensors.