Multifunctional 3D-printed platform integrated with a smartphone ambient light sensor for halocarbon contaminants monitoring

Abstract 3D-printed platforms integrated with smartphone light sensors have become a powerful tool for the development of frugal and facile biosensing systems. Herein, we report a 3D-printed platform for multimodal analysis (3D-PMA) based on a smartphone ambient light sensor (ALS). The proposed approach was first validated using a microtiter plate-reader, and then its application potential was demonstrated by measuring halohydrin dehalogenase activities employing three different sample modes, viz. using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) plate strips, cuvettes, and the glass fiber membrane as sample containers. For real-sample analysis, 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol (1,3-DCP), a toxic halogenated compound, was successfully detected in spiked river water samples with recoveries in the range of 101.95-109.70%. After demonstrating the suitability for liquid-phase assays, the 3D-PMA was also optimized for 1,3-DCP detection using a glass fiber membrane. The detection could be done using a 10 μ L reaction system with an assay time of 2 min. The assay showed two linear ranges. The calibration equation of Y = 81.687x + 140.060 was obtained from the lower part of the calibration curve and was used to calculate the detection limit of the system. Under optimized conditions, a detection limit of 80 μ M was achieved for 1,3-DCP. The small size of the device endows it with great promise for use as a benchtop and an on-demand detection system. The proposed low-cost and portable system has great potential for the (bio) sensing of different biological and environmental samples where biocomponent-analyte interaction leads to a color change of the reaction system, indicating its applicability in resource-constrained settings.