Polycaprolactone-enabled sealing and carbon composite electrode integration into electrochemical microfluidics

Abstract

Demonstration of a simple melt based process to overcome the issue of poorly integrated, low activity and complicated methods of carbon electrode integration into microfluidics.

SECM Investigation of Carbon Composite Thermoplastic Electrodes

“…McCreery et al reported that dopamine has higher electrochemical response at edge plane than at basal plane graphite. 24,36 While dopamine electrocatalytic sites may result from polishing, 8,25 all TPEs were similarly polished immediately before imaging. Electrochemical activity of Fe(MeOH)2 is less dependent of surface states due to its outer-sphere character but Fe(CN)6 3-/4could also have a variable response with its surface interactions.…”

“…TPEs were fabricated as previously described. [8][9][10] Briefly, PMMA (Optix, Plaskolite), COC (8007, TOPAS, MI, USA), and PCL (ThermoMorph) were dissolved in ethyl acetate, toluene, and dichloromethane, respectively. Carbon was added in specified ratios to the thermoplastic solution by mass (1:4 thermoplastic:carbon is equivalent to 80% carbon by mass) and thoroughly mixed.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] There has been a recent revitalization of using carbon composite thermoplastic electrodes (TPEs) using a simple, solvent-assisted fabrication method. [8][9][10] TPEs are thermoplastic and carbon mixtures that are inexpensive and easy to prepare. They retain similar physical properties of the thermoplastic and the excellent electrochemical performance from the carbon additive.…”

“…They retain similar physical properties of the thermoplastic and the excellent electrochemical performance from the carbon additive. TPEs have been fabricated with a variety of carbon types (graphite and carbon black) and thermoplastics, including poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), 8 cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) 9 and poly-caprolactone (PCL). 10 TPE electrochemical performance depends on the carbon, thermoplastic, and their corresponding ratio.…”

Desenvolvimento de dispositivos analíticos baseados em papel usando materiais de custo baixo

“…Dentre os polímeros termoplásticos, a policaprolactona (PCL) é um polímero que pode ser moldado quando aquecido a 65 °C, permitindo, assim, a introdução do material compósito em um molde para a criação dos eletrodos. Além disso, a PCL possui propriedades interessantes, tais como insolubilidade em água e biodegradabilidade, para ser explorado no desenvolvimento de ETs acoplados ao μPADs(KLUNDER et al, 2019). μPADs dispensem o uso de bombas externas, devido a capacidade de transportar fluidos por capilaridade, o fluxo produzido por esses dispositivos não fornece uma vazão constante, uma vez que a força de arraste aumenta à medida que a solução se move pelo papel pela ação capilar (ELIZALDE; URTEAGA; BERLI, 2015).…”