PolyJet Three-dimensional-Printed Microchip Devices With Integrated Carbon Electrodes for Neurotransmitter Analysis.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Microfluidic devices are crucial for sensitive chemical analysis.
• Integrating electrodes into microfluidics often involves complex fabrication steps.
• PolyJet 3D printing offers potential for rapid prototyping of microfluidic systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel method for integrating carbon ink electrodes into PolyJet 3D-printed microfluidic devices.
• To demonstrate the fabrication of devices for microchip electrophoresis (ME) and microchip-based flow injection analysis (FIA).
• To evaluate the performance of these integrated devices for electrochemical detection.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication involves printing separate channel and electrode layers using PolyJet 3D printing.
• Carbon electrodes are patterned on glass substrates and embedded within the 3D-printed electrode layer using a custom stencil.
• Channel layers are 3D printed onto molds or directly onto the printer tray with support structures.

Main Results:

• Achieved reliable electrode-channel alignment and minimal band broadening in the fabricated devices.
• Demonstrated effective separation of neurotransmitters in ME experiments with high theoretical plate counts (up to 136,000 plates/m).
• Achieved a limit of detection for dopamine of 170 nM in ME applications and showed feasibility for FIA devices.

Conclusions:

• The presented approach enables facile integration of carbon electrodes into 3D-printed microfluidic devices.
• This method supports the creation of versatile platforms for electrochemical detection, including ME and FIA.
• The technology allows for integration with off-chip processes like microdialysis sampling, expanding analytical capabilities.