Automation of fizzy extraction enabled by inexpensive open-source modules

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Instrumentation
• Open-Source Hardware

Background:

• Instrumental analysis often demands significant manual labor across sample preparation, detection, and data processing.
• Commercial automation is limited to established methods, hindering the adoption of novel analytical prototypes.
• Open-source electronics offer a pathway to integrate automation early in the development of new analytical instruments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the utility of open-source electronics in automating a newly developed analytical device.
• To develop an autonomous fizzy extraction system for semi-volatile solute extraction.
• To evaluate the performance of the automated system using standards and real samples.

Main Methods:

• Prototyping an automated analytical device using open-source electronic modules (Arduino microcontrollers).
• Implementing fizzy extraction, a technique leveraging effervescence for liquid-to-gas phase solute transfer.
• Integrating smartphone control, real-time mass spectrometry data acquisition, and automated data processing.

Main Results:

• Successful automation of the entire fizzy extraction process, including sample analysis triggering, gas pressure control, and data acquisition.
• Real-time data processing capabilities, including noise filtering, peak integration, and concentration calculation.
• Automated reporting, data storage, system monitoring, and sample carryover minimization.

Conclusions:

• Open-source electronics facilitate the early-stage automation of novel analytical instruments, overcoming limitations of manual operation.
• The developed autonomous fizzy extraction device offers a comprehensive solution for semi-volatile solute analysis.
• This approach enhances the performance and potential adoption of new analytical techniques.