Comprehensive experimental study on the impact of size and geometry of 3D-printed devices on solid-phase extraction efficiency and reproducibility

Abstract

Our study investigated the impact of 3D-printed sorbent device geometry on extraction of benzodiazepines (BZD). Utilizing additive manufacturing (AM), we created devices with varying shapes and sizes, including cylinders and volumetric lattices. The sorbent material was a suspension of C18-coated silica gel in a photocurable resin. Our findings revealed that device geometry significantly influenced extraction efficiency. Area, internal shape, and size all impacted BZD recovery. Volumetric lattices, particularly gyroid and x-cell shapes, outperformed cylinders. Larger devices generally led to higher absolute recovery, but standardization per unit area showed smaller devices to be more efficient. These results provide valuable insights for designing optimized sorbent devices, contributing to advancements in solid-phase extraction.