Turning a 3D Printer into a HPLC Fraction Collector: A Tool for Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Measurements
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Design
2.1. Justification of the Design
2.2. 3D-Printer Modifications
2.3. Bill of Materials
Component | Source | Cost |
---|---|---|
3D printer Prusa I3 style 1 | https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/155077037136 (accessed on 30 November 2023) | AUD 232.00 |
MKS GEN L board | https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/354788810185 (accessed on 30 November 2023) | AUD 70.00 |
A4988 drivers (5 units) | https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/134438897517 (accessed on 30 November 2023) | AUD 11.00 |
PAL TR98 tray | https://www.palparts.com/product/pal-tr98/ (accessed on 30 November 2023) | AUD 1045.00 |
Male-female DuPont cable for stepper motors (5 units) | https://3dprintingperth.com/products/stepper-motor-cable-male-to-female-extension-dupont-wire?variant=39471376826481 (accessed on 30 November 2023) | AUD 15.00 |
Adapter model BT7242A for stepper motors | https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32881420875.html (accessed on 30 November 2023) | AUD 5.00 |
Waste tube | https://www.labfriend.com.au/bsafe-corrugated-tubing-pp-ø-65-x-100-mm-t-175-mm (accessed on 30 November 2023) | AUD 50.00 |
Cable holder for waste tube | https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/203860080384 (accessed on 30 November 2023) | AUD 4.00 |
M3 screw, nut, and space | Hardware store | Less than AUD 5.00 |
3D-printed tube holder | Appendix A | Less than AUD 1.00 |
Total | AUD 1438.00 |
3. Build Instructions
4. Operating Instructions
4.1. Control Board Preparation
4.2. Basic Commands
4.3. Determining Important Positions
4.4. Automated Control
- (1)
- Turn on the HPLC pump (by sending a command to the Chromeleon pump control interface);
- (2)
- Inject a sample volume from a sample in the HPLC autosampler (by sending a command to the Chromeleon sampler control interface);
- (3)
- Wait a predetermined time until the compound of interest is at the exit of the tube in the fraction collector (this needs to be determined beforehand);
- (4)
- Move the HPLC tube to the first tin capsule (by sending commands to Hype!Terminal);
- (5)
- Wait for a predetermined time above the tin capsule so that the compound is completely collected in it;
- (6)
- Move to the next tin capsule (by sending commands to Hype!Terminal);
- (7)
- Repeat step 6 for as many compounds as are needed to be collected (by sending commands to Hype!Terminal);
- (8)
- Move to the waste tube (by sending commands to Hype!Terminal);
- (9)
- Turn the HPLC pump off (by sending a command to the Chromeleon pump control interface);
- (10)
- Wait until the collected liquid has completely evaporated;
- (11)
- Repeat all steps for multiple replicates of the sample, as required to collect sufficient material for elemental analysis coupled to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA–IRMS).
5. Validation
Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis of Glucose
6. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Appendix B
References
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Share and Cite
Carvalho, M.C.; Oakes, J.M. Turning a 3D Printer into a HPLC Fraction Collector: A Tool for Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Measurements. Hardware 2023, 1, 29-53. https://doi.org/10.3390/hardware1010004
Carvalho MC, Oakes JM. Turning a 3D Printer into a HPLC Fraction Collector: A Tool for Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Measurements. Hardware. 2023; 1(1):29-53. https://doi.org/10.3390/hardware1010004
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarvalho, Matheus C., and Joanne M. Oakes. 2023. "Turning a 3D Printer into a HPLC Fraction Collector: A Tool for Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Measurements" Hardware 1, no. 1: 29-53. https://doi.org/10.3390/hardware1010004