Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

۱٫ Introduction

۲٫ Microfluidic devices in analytical chemistry

۳٫ Separation science

۴٫ Extraction

۵٫ Conclusions and future perspectives

Declaration of competing interest

Acknowledgments

References

Abstract

۳D printing has attracted the attention of analytical chemists. 3D printing possesses the merits of fast and low-cost fabrication of geometrically complex 3D structures and has been employed in the fields of microfluidic devices, electrochemical sensors and biosensors, separation sciences, sample pretreatment, and wearable sensors. We focus on the applications and materials of 3D printing in microfluidic devices, separation sciences, and extraction over the last three years and we offer outlook. It is clear that the 3D printing in separation science is here to stay and with new materials development, to develop to on demand fabrication of separation tools.

۱٫ Introduction

Recently, three-dimensional (3D) printing, also called “additive manufacturing,” has become a widely used tool for the construction of different devices in analytical chemistry [1]. 3D models are usually created directly by computer-aided design (CAD) and then printed based on layer-by-layer addition [2]. Compared with traditional manufacturing methods, 3D printing has various merits, including fast, low-cost, and fabrication with minimal waste generated [3,4]. Nowadays, 3D printing is an important tool in manufacturing and prototyping [5-7]. Various technologies for 3D printing have been used consisting of fused filament fabrication (FFF), stereolithography (SLA), selective laser melting (SLS), inkjet and Polyjet printing, and laminated object manufacturing (LOM) [8–۱۱]. The techniques of 3D printing have been well-introduced in several reviews [12–۱۴], thus they will not be covered here in detail.

۳D printing was first introduced about 40 years ago [15]. Research in 3D printing has exhibited a rapid growth for printing functional parts, such as biomaterials, nanomaterials, metals, and ceramics as well as polymers [16–۱۸]. ۳D printing is has been extensively used in the fields of analytical chemistry, environment sciences, biology, medical devices, and other manufacturing fields [19–۲۲]. In analytical chemistry, the main research fields include microfluidic devices, electrochemical sensors and biosensors, separation sciences, sample pretreatment, wearable sensors, and others [23]. A review of 3D printing applications in sensors and biosensors has been published by our group as well as several reviews published in the special area Journal Pre-proof of analytical chemistry [24–۲۷]. A recent comprehensive review on the broader implications for analytical chemistry was published by Spence et al. in 2017 [12]. This review mainly focuses on using 3D printing in the areas of microfluidic devices, 4 separation sciences, and extraction over the last three years, putting in perspective the application of rapidly developing field of printable materials in connections toanalytical chemistry applications (Fig. 1). We discuss recent developments for past 3 years and we provide outlook and future directions. Future impacts and challenges of 3D printing in these areas will be discussed. We hope that the review will guide analytical scientists to further explore 3D printing techniques in order to realize its potential applications in analytical chemistry