Multimodal, Native-Environment Measurement is Streamlining Surface Analysis
Stephen Buynovsky, a product manager at Micro Photonics with a background in spectroscopy, coauthored an article in Photonics Spectra with Frank K. Gehring, PhD, founder and CEO of 3T Analytik, and Adam Olsson, PhD, product manager at 3T Analytik. The article explores how emerging workflows streamline surface analysis by connecting interfacial mass changes, viscoelastic behavior, chemical structure, and electrochemical activity.
Surface-driven processes are central to the performance of modern materials. In coatings, polymers, batteries, engineered surfaces, biomedical interfaces, and corrosion science, many of the most consequential changes begin not in the bulk of a material, but at the boundary where it meets its environment. Adsorption, film growth, oxidation, swelling, passivation, delamination, and molecular reorganization can all originate at an interface, often well before the appearance of any changes to bulk properties.
Micro Photonics offers the qCell T series from 3T Analytik, advanced quartz crystal microbalance instruments with damping/dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). The instruments are optimally suited for the analysis of nanomaterial properties, biofilms and cell cultures, assessment of viscosity, and development of immunological, hematological, biological, or electrochemical assays. Monitoring with the QCM-D technique is label-free and in real-time.
The newest addition, the eSorptionProbe, brings QCM-D to a handheld format, with optional connectivity for electrochemical QCM-D (EQCM-D). Designed for straightforward measurements in static mode, its slim sensor-probe holder allows users to immerse the sensor directly into a sample solution or pipette small droplets onto its surface. No flow cells, pumps, or complex handling are required—making QCM-D more accessible and easier to use.
3T analytik is located in Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany, and develops and produces technological solutions for monitoring of molecular binding & interactions and surface associated phenomena. The instruments from 3T ensure an innovative and easy surface analysis for established and emerging industrial and academic applications.
Discover more about our QCM-D and electrochemistry products.