Flow-based compact microfluidic electrochemical cell with Parafilm® channels

A planar interdigitated microelectrodes-based microfluidic electrochemical cell (P-μFEC) with channels made by Parafilm® sheets was conceptualized with the application as a sensor for detecting heavy metal ions. Herein, we first-timely proposed a new strategy for creating Parafilm® microchannels using a Plotter cutter and Hot bonding self-sealing method for solid Microfluidic devices (PPHM). For the prepared novel P-µFEC by the PPHM protocol, which operated in the laminar regime, its electrochemical performance was well-studied using the well-known electrochemical reporter potassium Ferri/Ferrocyanide (K₃/K₄[Fe(CN)₆]). A reference electrode (RE) layer deposited at the top silica glass substrate was embedded within the device to minimize the ohmic drop (iR_cell) between the working electrode (WE) and RE. The experimental and virtualized computational COMSOL results demonstrated: (i) The changes in the RE's placements had negligible influences on the P-µFEC's electrochemical performance. (ii) The laminar flow's influence on the P-µFEC's electrochemical performance was quite prominent, which was due to the changes in the mass transfer process from diffusion (stationary) to diffusion + convection (hydrodynamic). (iii) A direct virtualized demonstration of laminar flow's influences on the mass transfer process from diffusion (stationary) to diffusion + convection (hydrodynamic) was first timely validated by finite element analysis simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics. (iv) Finally, the proposed P-µFEC showed promise as a sensitive electrochemical sensor for different heavy metal ion substrate (model analytes) detection. The IUPAC detection limits for Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, [Fe(CN)₆]^3- and Hg²⁺ is ∼318.6±3.55 μg/L, ∼191±5.4 4 μg/L, ∼113.5±9.9 μg/L, and 8.21±0.88 μg/L, respectively. Among them, the detection limit for Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺ meets the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s water contamination level for Cu (1300 μg/L) and is close to the EPA level for Hg (2 μg/L), respectively. These findings demonstrate the potential of using the Parafilm® sheet as the microfluidic channel for a flow-based P-μFEC as a novel analytical tool.