3D Printed Portable Devices for Sample Preparation and Bioanalysis

• Grant number: 26/00093-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: June 01, 2026
• End date: May 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Dosil Pereira de Jesus
• Grantee: Mayra Venturini Paschoarelli
• Supervisor: Adam Thomas Woolley
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Brigham Young University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 25/20829-7 - Development and Application of a Flow-Based Electroextraction Device Incorporating a 3D-Printed Porous Membrane, BP.DD

Abstract

Miniaturization is needed in Chemistry, especially in Analytical Chemistry. The small sample volume, quicker analysis, and usually low detection levels compared with the standard technique make it more appealing. Therefore, new methods to miniaturize are emerging. 3D printing is one of these methods, and several analytical applications can be fabricated into a single device, offering greater versatility and speed than conventional manufacturing techniques. One of the uses for miniaturized devices in Analytical Chemistry is sample preparation, becoming increasingly important due to the lower concentration of desired analytes. Combining sample preparation and operational simplicity is electromembrane extraction (EME), a pre-concentration technique based on a porous membrane separating two aqueous solutions. In this project, devices for EME with integrated porous membranes will be manufactured using 3D printing. The time spent in Dr. Adam Woolley's laboratory will be fundamental and will provide the technology and skills required to directly print the porous membrane within the chip, separating both a donor solution channel and an acceptor solution channel, following an online Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) separation. The experience acquired in the period abroad will focus on learning how to use a custom 3D Printer, and optimizing the relevant parameters for the printing process, which will be relevant to manufacturing the integrated device for EME. Additionally, experience in handling biological fluids will also be employed to quantify biomarkers in urine or blood serum.