Attana biosensors are based on the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) technique. QCM uses the piezoelectric effect. By applying an AC-potential to a piezoelectric quartz crystal, the crystal can be controlled to oscillate at its resonance frequency.

The resonance frequency of the crystal can be altered by adding or removing, atoms or molecules from the surface of the crystal. Hence, the crystal is used as a sensitive microbalance. For more information please refer to the Attana Technical Note - Biotin Surface

This microbalance provides an effective means to detect chemical reactions. By attaching a specific molecule (the target) to the surface of the crystal and letting a sample flow over the surface, the target’s interaction with the sample can efficiently be studied. For instance, the target can attract molecules from the sample and react with them. The reacting molecules can either remain on the surface, thereby causing a mass increase, or detach from the surface causing a reduction in mass.

From the reaction behavior, the user can obtain real-time information about:

- Kinetics, the speed of the reaction between target and sample molecules.

- Affinity, the strength of the binding between target and sample molecules.

- Concentration, the number of molecules in the sample.

- Specificity, the target's interaction with different molecules.