Chromatomembrane preconcentration of phenols using a new 3D printed microflow cell followed by reversed-phase HPLC determination.

Chromatomembrane process represents a universal approach to the separation of compounds in liquid-gas and liquid-liquid phases systems. However, the broad application of chromatomembrane separation methods in chemical analysis is restricted by the absence of serially produced chromatomembrane flow cells and the difficulties of their laboratory production. The present work addresses the preparation of chromatomembrane flow cell by using 3D printing. Fused deposition modeling and stereolithography were modes for the production of the flow cell using acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and polyacrylate-based Anycubic UV resins respectively. The separation and analytical performance of the 3D-printed flow cell were compared with a polyimide unit fabricated by a milling machine, the trial addressing the determination of phenol in the air. The method is based on chromatomembrane absorption of the analytes in 95 μL of the aqueous phase positioned in the cell. Reversed-phase HPLC with fluorimetric detection was applied for the determination of the absorbed analytes. The detection limit of phenols (phenol and m-cresol) in the air was 0.9 μg/m3 by absorption preconcentration time of 10 min. The volumetric flow rate of the analyzed air through the chromatomembrane cell using an electrodriven aspirator was 0.1 L/min.