3D Printable Reservoirs for Potentiometric Analysis of Solid Samples

Abstract

Potentiometric sensing has shown to be highly effective for diagnostic testing of many important ionic biomarkers. Outside of biological analytes, ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) have been utilized for environmental and forensic analytes due to their high specificity and sensitivity. Unfortunately, many samples to be analyzed (especially in the case of forensics) are solids (e.g., powders, soils, etc.) which require sample preparation steps prior to analysis. In this work, we further expand on the utility of fabricating ISEs through 3D printing protocols by developing a sampling reservoir and placing it in contact with the sensing element of potentiometric sensors (i.e., the ion-selective membrane (ISM). This reservoir works as a sampling well, dissolving solid samples and allowing the ions to diffuse to the ISM for quantification.