Highly Sensitive and Interference-Free Electrochemical Nitrite Detection in a 3D Printed Miniaturized Device

Abstract

3D printing has a significant impact on various applications as it facilitates greater control over the designed shapes, leads to rapid prototyping and mass production with transferable designs at a lower cost. These attributes provide great versatility and thus make the devices industry-friendly. Herein, we demonstrate a simple and disposable 3D printed device, fabricated in single-step, as an electrochemical nitrite sensor using commercially available carbon loaded polylactic acid (PLA) filament. Nitrite, usually ingested through water and food, can be harmful when taken in excess. Thus, its efficient and accurate on-site detection becomes imperative. The device showed appreciable sensitivity and good selectivity towards nitrite having a limit-of-detection (LOD) of [Formula: see text]. Furthermore, the device has been shown to monitor nitrite in real soil and water samples with appreciable recovery values. Eventually, the device is capable to be multiplexed with varying soil parameters.