3D printed devices and sorbents – application for extraction procedures in bioanalysis

There is still a need for novel tools for simple, efficient, and selective extraction of analytes proceeding LC-MS* bioanalysis. Additive manufacturing, also called 3D printing, can possibly contribute in terms of rapid prototyping of
novel extraction devices but also by direct fabrication of advanced sorbents.
Fused deposition modeling, currently the most popular mode of 3D printing, was used to fabricate different kinds of sorbents, subsequently used for analytical assays such as: determination of glimepiride in water, a set of steroids in
human plasma, as well as drug candidates in in vitro enzymatic incubations aimed to study their metabolic stability. It was presented also how the size and shape can be customized to fulfil particular requirements of an assay. The
analytes were quantified using LC-MS as a final analytical technique. The primary results showed that composite material, commercially known as LAYFOMM 60, can be successfully used for analyte extraction in the SPME procedure. Factors influencing extraction efficiency, as solvents for sorption and desorption along with the time of those steps, were assessed [1]. Next, the analytical system for the simultaneous extraction of steroids in a 96-well format was developed thanks to a feature of 3D printing to manufacture the complex geometry of a sorbent. The designed procedure required a small volume of a sample and solvents, was semi-automated and was successfully validated in terms of bioanalytical validation. The developed system was also compared with available alternatives (C-18 sorbent) and possible advantages were discussed [2]. In the final application, it was shown that metabolic stability assay, which is usually performed in a small volume due to the cost of enzymes and co-factors, can also be beneficial by being 3D-printed. The size of a sorbent was customized to allow extraction from a small volume of postincubation mixture [3].
We also demonstrate the usefulness of custom in-lab fabrication on an example of a new device for dispersive solid phase extraction. The set of four fully printed parts is aimed to perform the extraction without leakage, unwanted
evaporation, and most importantly avoiding contamination of the final extract with sorbent particles. To show further perspective in this field the novel composite material containing silica particles embedded in the polymer matrix was developed and assessed in view of its extraction efficiency.

[1] M. Belka, S. Ulenberg, T. Bączek, Anal. Chem. 89(8), 2017, 4373-4376.
[2] M. Belka, L. Konieczna, M. Okońska, M. Pyszka, Sz. Ulenberg, T. Bączek, Anal Chim. Acta 1081, 2019, 1-5.
[3] S. Ulenberg, P. Georgiev, M. Belka, G. Ślifirski, M. Wróbel, A. Chodkowski, M. Król, F. Herold, T. Bączek, J. Chromatogr. A 1629, 2020, 461501.