Journal article
Turning a 3D Printer into a HPLC Fraction Collector: A Tool for Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Measurements
Hardware, Vol.1(1), pp.29-53
07/12/2023
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Abstract
Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) can provide unique insights into the cycling of elements including carbon and nitrogen. One approach for CSIA is the use of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to separate compounds of interest, followed by analysis of these compounds using an elemental analyser coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. A key component of this technique is the fraction collector, which automatically collects compounds as they are separated by HPLC. Here, we present a fraction collector that is a simple adaptation of a 3D printer, and, thus, can be easily adopted by any laboratory already equipped for HPLC. In addition to the much lower cost compared to commercial alternatives, this adaptation has the advantage for CSIA that the 3D printer is able to heat the collected fractions, which is not true for many commercial fraction collectors. Heating allows faster evaporation of the solvent, so that the dried compounds can be measured by EA–IRMS immediately. The procedure can be repeated consecutively so that diluted solutions can have the compounds concentrated for analysis. Any computer-controlled HPLC can be integrated to the fraction collector used here by means of AutoIt.
Details
- Title
- Turning a 3D Printer into a HPLC Fraction Collector: A Tool for Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Measurements
- Creators
- Matheus C. Carvalho - Southern Cross UniversityJoanne M. Oakes - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Hardware, Vol.1(1), pp.29-53
- Publisher
- MDPI
- Grant note
- This research was funded by the Australian Research Council, ARC LIEF grant number LE130100153, awarded to J.M.O.
- Identifiers
- 991013157411002368
- Copyright
- © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Environmental Analysis Laboratory; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article