3D printed fluidics with embedded analytic functionality for automated reaction optimisation

Additive manufacturing or ‘3D printing’ is being developed as a novel manufacturing process for the production of bespoke micro and milli-scale fluidic devices. When coupled with online monitoring and optimisation software, this offers an advanced, customised method for performing automated chemical synthesis. This paper reports the use of two additive manufacturing processes, stereolithography and selective laser melting, to create multi-functional fluidic devices with embedded reaction monitoring capability. The selectively laser melted parts are the first published examples of multi-functional 3D printed metal fluidic devices. These devices allow high temperature and pressure chemistry to be performed in solvent systems destructive to the majority of devices manufactured via the stereolithography, polymer jetting and fused deposition modelling processes previously utilised for this application. These devices were integrated with commercially available flow chemistry, chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis equipment, allowing automated online and inline optimisation of the reaction medium. This setup allowed the optimisation of two reactions, a ketone functional group inter-conversion and a fused polycyclic heterocycle formation, via spectroscopic and chromatographic analysis.