We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBE SCIENTIFIC, LLC

Download Mobile App




3D Printed Point-Of-Care Mass Spectrometer Outperforms State-Of-The-Art Models

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 10 Apr 2024

Mass spectrometry is a precise technique for identifying the chemical components of a sample and has significant potential for monitoring chronic illness health states, such as measuring hormone levels for hypothyroidism patients. More...

However, the high cost of mass spectrometers, often reaching several hundred thousand dollars, restricts them to labs that require the transportation of blood samples for analysis, thereby complicating chronic disease management. Now, researchers have taken a big step towards building inexpensive hardware that could make mass spectrometry local. The team has used 3D printing to create a low-cost ionizer, a vital component of the mass spectrometer, that can deliver twice as good a performance as its high-end counterparts.

The device developed at MIT (Cambridge, MA, USA) spans just a few centimeters and is designed for mass production, enabling its integration into mass spectrometers through robotic assembly method. This also makes it more economical than traditional ionizers which often demand manual assembly, expensive hardware to interface with the mass spectrometer, or construction in a semiconductor clean room. By using 3D printing instead, along with some clever optimizations, the researchers produced a low-cost electrospray emitter that can outperform state-of-the-art mass spectrometry ionizers.

The optimizations allow the electrospray emitter to operate at 24% higher voltage than state-of-the-art versions, thereby more than doubling its signal-to-noise ratio. The method of batch processing could drastically reduce the cost of each emitter, paving the way for affordable point-of-care mass spectrometry. The team is now focused on developing a prototype that integrates their ionizer with a 3D-printed mass filter, another critical component of the device. Additionally, they are advancing the development of 3D-printed vacuum pumps, a key challenge in 3D printing an entire compact mass spectrometer.

“Our big vision is to make mass spectrometry local. For someone who has a chronic disease that requires constant monitoring, they could have something the size of a shoebox that they could use to do this test at home. For that to happen, the hardware has to be inexpensive,” said Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal research scientist in MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories.

Related Links:
MIT


New
Gold Member
Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile pHOx
3-Part Differential Hematology Analyzer
Swelab Alfa Plus Sampler
New
DNA/RNA Extraction/Purification Kit
Nucleic Acid Extraction or Purification Kit
New
Pan-Cancer Panel
TruSight Oncology 500
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
These images illustrate how precision oncology Organ Chips recapitulate individual patients’ responses to chemotherapy (Photo courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.