Facile Synthesis of 3D Printed Tailored Electrode for 3-Monochloropropane-1,2-Diol (3-MCPD) Sensing

Additive manufacturing (AM) has allowed enormous advancement in technology and material development; thus, it requires attention in developing functionalized printed materials. AM can assist in efficiently manufacturing complex tailored electrodes for electrochemical sensing in the food industry. Herein, we used a commercial fused deposition modeling (FDM) filament of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) for FDM 3D printing of a self-designed electrode with minimal time and cost compared to a commercial electrode. A graphene-based ABS conductive filament (ABS-G) was used to fabricate the conductive electrode in a dual-nozzle FDM 3D printer. The electrochemically conductive 3D printed electrode was characterized using cyclic voltammetry and tested against standard 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) with known concentrations using an amperometric detection method. Results showed a basis for promising application to detect and quantify 3-MCPD, a food contaminant known for its carcinogenic potential. The fabrication of functionalized 3D printed polymer electrodes paves way for the development of complete 3D printable electrochemical sensors. Under optimal conditions, this newly synthesized electrochemical sensor exhibited sensitivity with a linear response range from 6.61 × 10^-4 to 2.30 × 10^-3 µg/mL with an estimated limit of detection of 3.30 × 10^-4 µg/mL against 3-MCPD.