Description:
Reference #: 01152
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities a method of 3D printing polymer boundaries that allows fast preparation of reproducible sampling areas on the fabric substrate sample materials while minimizing variability.
Invention Description:
The subject invention is a reproducible sample preparation method for 3D printed polymer rings that provide boundaries on different fabric types to hold liquid samples up to 500 uL. This allows liquid samples with different dilutions to spread uniformly within the same area. In addition, the rings also differentiate chemical treatments within reproducible boundaries all while reducing unwanted variability between different samples due to different surface treatments, environmental conditions, and various diffusion effects.
Potential Applications:
These 3D printed rings can be applied in calculations of calibration curves, exploring limits of detection, studying different chemical treatments for different materials, and artificial aging research.
Advantages and Benefits:
- Polymer boundaries created using a 3D printer allow fast preparation of reproducible sampling areas on the fabric substrate sample materials.
- Specifically, it enables control of the surface area of a liquid sample under testing whose volume must be reproduced for repeated exposure to test conditions.
- It also reduces unwanted variables due to sample difference, allowing liquid samples of different dilution or chemical treatments to be evenly distributed and held within the same boundary area.
Background:
Reproducible sample preparation methods are essential for analytical chemistry research as well as for the forensic science field. 3D printed polymer rings can create multiple boundaries on the same piece of sample to provide reproducible sampling areas. This reduces variables that exist among different samples including, but not limited to, environmental conditions to which they have been exposed and differing surface treatments which can result in different diffusion factors.