Rapid prototyping of ion-selective electrodes using a low-cost 3D printed internet-of-things (IoT) controlled robot

Ozer T., Ağır İ., Henry C. S.

TALANTA, vol.1, pp.123544-123554, 2022 (Peer-Reviewed Journal) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 1
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.talanta.2022.123544
  • Journal Name: TALANTA
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded, Scopus, Academic Search Premier, L'Année philologique, Aerospace Database, Analytical Abstracts, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Communication Abstracts, EMBASE, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Linguistic Bibliography, MEDLINE, Metadex, Pollution Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.123544-123554
  • Keywords: 3D-printing, Internet-of-things (IoT), Solid-contact ion-selective electrode, Potassium, Sodium, Potentiometric detection, Point-of-care, IMPRINTED MESOPOROUS CARBON, SOLID-CONTACT, WATER LAYER, SENSOR, HYPONATREMIA, DISORDERS, URINE

Abstract

We report automated fabrication of solid-contact sodium-selective (Na+-ISEs) and potassium-selective electrodes (K+-ISEs) using a 3D printed liquid handling robot controlled with Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The printing system is affordable and can be customized for the use with micropipettes for applications such as drop-casting, biological assays, sample preparation, rinsing, cell culture, and online analyte monitoring using multiwell plates. The robot is more compact (25 x 30 x 35 cm) and user-friendly than commercially available systems and does not require mechatronic experience. For fabrication of ion-selective electrodes, a carbon black intermediate layer and ion-selective membrane were successively drop-cast on the surface of stencil-printed carbon electrode using the dispensing robot. The 3D-printed robot increased ISE robustness while decreasing the modification time by eliminating manual steps. The Na+-ISEs and K+-ISEs were characterized for their potentiometric responses using a custom-made, low-cost (<$25) multi-channel smartphone-based potentiometer capable of signal processing and wireless data transmission. The electrodes showed Nernstian responses of 58.2 +/- 2.6 mV decade(-1) and 56.1 +/- 0.7 mV decade 1 for Na+ and K+, respectively with an LOD of 1.0 x 10(-5) M. We successfully applied the ISEs for multiplexed detection of Na+ and K+ in urine and artificial sweat samples at clinically relevant concentration ranges. The 3D-printed pipetting robot cost $100 and will pave the way for more accessible mass production of ISEs for those who cannot afford the expensive commercial robots.