| Title: | Facilitating chemical and biochemical experiments with electronic microcontrollers and single-board computers |
| Author(s): | Prabhu GRD; Yang TH; Hsu CY; Shih CP; Chang CM; Liao PH; Ni HT; Urban PL; |
| Address: | "Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. urban@mx.nthu.edu.tw. Frontier Research Center on Fundamental and Applied Sciences of Matters, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. urban@mx.nthu.edu.tw" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41596-019-0272-1 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1750-2799 (Electronic) 1750-2799 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Since the advent of modern science, researchers have had to rely on their technical skills or the support of specialized workshops to construct analytical instruments. The notion of the 'fourth industrial revolution' promotes construction of customized systems by individuals using widely available, inexpensive electronic modules. This protocol shows how chemists and biochemists can utilize a broad range of microcontroller boards (MCBs) and single-board computers (SBCs) to improve experimental designs and address scientific questions. We provide seven example procedures for laboratory routines that can be expedited by implementing this technology: (i) injection of microliter-volume liquid plugs into microscale capillaries for low-volume assays; (ii) transfer of liquid extract to a mass spectrometer; (iii) liquid-gas extraction of volatile organic compounds (called 'fizzy extraction'), followed by mass spectrometric detection; (iv) monitoring of experimental conditions over the Internet cloud in real time; (v) transfer of analytes to a mass spectrometer via a liquid microjunction interface, data acquisition, and data deposition into the Internet cloud; (vi) feedback control of a biochemical reaction; and (vii) optimization of sample flow rate in direct-infusion mass spectrometry. The protocol constitutes a primer for chemists and biochemists who would like to take advantage of MCBs and SBCs in daily experimentation. It is assumed that the readers have not attended any courses related to electronics or programming. Using the instructions provided in this protocol and the cited material, readers should be able to assemble simple systems to facilitate various procedures performed in chemical and biochemical laboratories in 1-2 d" |
| Keywords: | Biochemistry/*instrumentation/*methods *Computers Electrochemical Techniques/*instrumentation/*methods Software; |
| Notes: | "MedlinePrabhu, Gurpur Rakesh D Yang, Tzu-Hsien Hsu, Chun-Yao Shih, Chun-Pei Chang, Chun-Ming Liao, Pei-Han Ni, Hsiang-Ting Urban, Pawel L eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2020/01/31 Nat Protoc. 2020 Mar; 15(3):925-990. doi: 10.1038/s41596-019-0272-1. Epub 2020 Jan 29" |
