Batch Scale Production of 3D Printed Extraction Sorbents Using a Low-Cost Modification to a Desktop Printer

This study reports a simple modification to a commercial
resin
3D printer that significantly reduces the amount of prepolymer material
needed for the production of extraction sorbents. The modified printing
platform is demonstrated in the printing of two imidazolium-based
ionic liquid (IL) monomers. Two geometries resembling a blade-type
polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) sorbent used in thin-film microextraction
and a fiber-type sorbent used in solid-phase microextraction (SPME)
were printed. The SPME PIL sorbents were used to extract 10 organic
contaminants, including plasticizers, antimicrobial agents, UV filters,
and pesticides, from water followed by high-performance liquid chromatographic
(HPLC) analysis. To compare the extraction performance of the SPME
sorbents, seven fibers printed with the same prepolymer composition
from the same printing batch as well as different batches were evaluated.
The results revealed highly reproducible extraction efficiencies for
all tested sorbents with no statistical difference in their extraction
performance. Method validation showed acceptable linearity (R2 > 0.92) for all analytes with limits of
detection
and limits of quantification ranging from 0.13 to 45 μg L–1 and 0.43 to 150 μg L–1, respectively.