A 3D-Printed Micro-Solid-Phase Extraction Device with Hypercrosslinked Polystyrene Sorbents for Highly Reproducible...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Developing efficient biological sample preparation methods is crucial for chromatography-mass spectrometry (CMS).
• Commercial platforms and in-house devices are used, but custom solutions are needed for specific applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the feasibility of using hypercrosslinked polystyrene as a sorbent for micro-solid-phase extraction (MSPE).
• To develop a custom 3D-printed device for sample preparation comparable to commercial microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) systems.
• To analyze aromatic metabolites of tyrosine and phenylalanine in human blood serum.

Main Methods:

• Hypercrosslinked polystyrene packed into disposable pipette tips was used as a sorbent for MSPE.
• A custom 3D-printed device was designed to automate the MSPE process.
• Extraction conditions were optimized for aromatic metabolites in human blood serum.
• Analytes were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after derivatization.

Main Results:

• Mean normalized recoveries of 90% for benzoic acid and 60-80% for most analytes were achieved.
• Lower recoveries were observed for the polar analytes phenyllactic and 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acids.
• The 3D-printed device demonstrated reproducibility comparable to commercial MEPS systems (RSD < 10%).

Conclusions:

• The proposed MSPE method using hypercrosslinked polystyrene and a 3D-printed device is a feasible and efficient approach for biological sample preparation.
• This in-house system offers a cost-effective and reproducible alternative to commercial MEPS systems.
• The developed strategy facilitates the evaluation of custom sorbents for diverse sample preparation needs.