Facilitating chemical and biochemical experiments with electronic microcontrollers and single-board computers

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. This protocol provides a set of seven customizable example procedures for using microcontroller boards (MCBs) and single-board computers (SBCs) for applications in chemical and biochemical research.