All-in-One Single-Print Additively Manufactured Electroanalytical Sensing Platforms

This manuscript providesthe first report of a fully additivelymanufactured (AM) electrochemical cell printed all-in-one, where all the electrodes and cell are printed as one, requiringno post-assembly or external electrodes. The three-electrode cellis printed using a standard non-conductive poly-(lactic acid) (PLA)-basedfilament for the body and commercially available conductive carbonblack/PLA (CB/PLA, ProtoPasta) for the three electrodes (working,counter, and reference; WE, CE, and RE, respectively). The electrochemicalperformance of the cell is evaluated first against the well-knownnear-ideal outer-sphere redox probe hexaamineruthenium-(III) chloride(RuHex), showing that the cell performs well using an AM electrodeas the pseudo-RE. Electrochemical activation of theWE via chronoamperometry and NaOH provides enhanced electrochemicalperformances toward outer-sphere probes and for electroanalyticalperformance. It is shown that this activation can be completed usingeither an external commercial Ag|AgCl RE or through simply using theinternal AM CB/PLA pseudo-RE and CE. This all-in-one electrochemical cell (AIOEC) was applied towardthe well-known detection of ascorbic acid (AA) and acetaminophen (ACOP),achieving linear trends with limits of detection (LODs) of 13.6 & PLUSMN;1.9 and 4.5 & PLUSMN; 0.9 & mu;M, respectively. The determination ofAA and ACOP in real samples from over-the-counter effervescent tabletswas explored, and when analyzed individually, recoveries of 102.9and 100.6% were achieved against UV-vis standards, respectively.Simultaneous detection of both targets was also achieved through detectionin the same sample exhibiting 149.75 and 81.35% recoveries for AAand ACOP, respectively. These values differing from the originalsare likely due to electrode fouling due to the AA oxidation beinga surface-controlled process. The cell design produced herein is easilytunable toward different sample volumes or container shapes for variousapplications among aqueous electroanalytical sensing; however, itis a simple example of the capabilities of this manufacturing method.This work illustrates the next step in research synergising AM andelectrochemistry, producing operational electrochemical sensing platformsin a single print, with no assembly and no requirements for exterioror commercial electrodes. Due to the flexibility, low-waste, and rapidprototyping of AM, there is scope for this work to be able to spanand impact a plethora of research areas.

Automated summary

This study presents a fully additively manufactured electrochemical cell that is printed as one piece without the need for post-assembly or external electrodes. The cell demonstrates successful detection of ascorbic acid and acetaminophen, showcasing potential for impact in various research areas.