“Sharing is good, and with digital technology, sharing is easy”
Richard Stallman – founder of GNU project
We build technologies to solve our own research challenges, but we always do so with a mind towards solutions that are broadly applicable and readily accessible. We emphasize the use of 3D printing in much of our hardware and instrumentation development because it enables digital distribution and reduces the need of specialized skills and facilities to reproduce. Here we aim to share access to the hardware, software, and method developments that we’ve produced in pursuit of our own research questions.
(CE)-TDA-LIF Instrument – Separate and/or size molecules with the sensitivity of laser-induced fluorescence detection
A 3D Printed Instrument for CE-TDA with dual LIF detection
The CE-TDA-LIF instrument was described in Analyst, 2025,150, 620-629 (DOI: 10.1039/d4an01208a), and is derived from a previous TDA-LIF instrument described in Anal. Chem. 2022, 94, 16, 6089–6096 (DOI:10.1021/acs.analchem.1c04566). Please reference these works if you find this technology useful. If no CE separation is needed, the instrument is easily used for TDA-LIF, in which case the sheath flow cooling module is not required.
STL files, parts lists, and assembly instructions are available on the NIH 3D Print Exchange (3DPX-021372)
3D Printed Eductor – Generate high stability flow in capillary tubing by applying sub-ambient pressure at the outlet
Eductor flow system generates vacuum via Bernoulli’s principle
The eductor “pump” is an integral component of our CE-TDA instrumentation. It was first described here: Anal. Chem. 2022, 94, 16, 6089–6096 (DOI:10.1021/acs.analchem.1c04566) then later used here Analyst, 2025,150, 620-629 (DOI: 10.1039/d4an01208a).
This tool takes an input of compressed air, and entrains a sub-ambient pressure that can be applied at the outlet of a capillary or other tubing. This arrangement allows the tubing inlet to remain accessible for introducing analytes or reagents into flow. Flow rates are controlled by input compressed air pressure, and we routinely achieve flow rate stabilities below 1% RSD at low nL/min flow rates. You’ll need to calibrate and validate your specific pressure source and flow system. The eductor is available on the NIH 3D Print Exchange (3DPX-016977).
3D Printed LIF Detector for Fused Silica Capilaries – nM to pM detection limits in CE and other capillary applications using low-cost diode laser modules
Bubble Perfusion Device – A 3D printable tissue culture platform for brain slice and other tissue culture, easily integrated with upright epifluorescence microscopy.
Coming Soon
A 3D printed device that develops upon the system first described in Anal. Methods, 2021,13, 1364-1373 (DOI:10.1039/D0AY02291H) is currently under peer review. We will share access here after final acceptance of the manuscript. Check back soon!
Coming Soon
We’ve developed various scripts and software tools that we use for automated signal processing in TDA and time-resolved calcium fluorescence methods. These are mostly written in R. We’re working to put these together for digital distribution, and possible hosting as web applications. Watch this space for updates.
Coming Soon
Over the years we’ve developed our own way of doing things, and learned small tricks that alleviate headaches in applications like microfabrication and 3D printing. We’re working to compile these in an easily consumed format, and we’ll share them here as they become availble. Watch this space for updates.