Towards DGT development with three-dimensional printing to improve lab and field experiments
Résumé
In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has received an unprecedented level of interest and attention in the field of analytical chemistry due to its capability for rapid prototyping, decreased fabrication time, one-step fabrication, and ever-increasing palette of functional print materials. The process of 3D printing works by depositing or polymerizing thin layers of material layer-by-layer in order to fabricate the desired object [1]. This work will show two practical examples of how the 3D printing technique can contribute to the Diffusive Gradient in Thin-films (DGT) technique. First, a holder of 6 DGT devices has been designed that can be fitted around a rod. This rod can spin when connected to a standard rotor and achieve, in simple cylindrical containers, a more uniform stirring (and thus more reproducible diffusive boundary layer, DBL). This holder can be fabricated easily with a 3D printer. The holder can be easily modified to increase the number of DGT devices rotated in the deployment solution. The choice of plastic material would be at the discretion of the user who will have to select an inert material adapted to the target species and the deployment solution. Only a stirring rod and a rod stirrer will be necessary for its use. Second, DGT applications require sometimes a stack of gels to test the hypothesis of perfect-sink conditions or to qualify the DBL thickness [2-3]. To avoid a crush of the gels placed in the DGT devices, one can print a 400 µm thick ring to extend the fixed thickness of the commercial caps. These tips permit us to employ up to obtain free space in standard DGT devices. To illustrate our ideas, prototypes will be presented to DGT2023. This collaborative initiative can contribute to develop exchanges of 3D printing strategies among DGT users and solve practical problems.