A new microfluidic assembly method for semiconductor-based biosensors using 3D-printing technologies was proposed for a rapid and cost-efficient design of new sensor systems. The microfluidic unit is designed and printed by a 3D-printer in just a few hours and assembled on a light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) chip using a photo resin. The cell growth curves obtained from culturing cells within microfluidics-based LAPS systems were compared with cell growth curves in cell culture flasks to examine biocompatibility of the 3D-printed chips. Furthermore, an optimal cell culturing within microfluidics-based LAPS chips was achieved by adjusting the fetal calf serum concentrations of the cell culture medium, an important factor for the cell proliferation.

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On-line monitoring of the metabolic activity of microorganisms involved in intermediate stages of biogas production plays an important role to avoid undesirable "down times" during the biogas production. In order to control this process, an on-chip differential measuring system based on the lightaddressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) principle combined with a 3D-printed multi-chamber structure has been realized. As a test microorganism, Escherichia coli K12 (E. coli K12) were used for cell-based measurements. Multi-chamber structures were developed to determine the metabolic activity of E. coli K12 in suspension for a different number of cells, responding to the addition of a constant or variable amount of glucose concentrations, enabling differential and simultaneous measurements.Multi-chamber differential measurement setup based on the LAPS principle; RE, reference electrode.

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A 32 ×32 charge-transfer enzyme-type acetylcholine (ACh) image sensor array was produced for label-free tracking of images of ACh distribution and its performance in repeatable measurements without enzyme deactivation was examined. The proposed sensor was based on a charge-transfer-type pH image sensor, which was modified using an enzyme membrane (acetylcholine esterase, AChE) for each pixel. The ACh image sensor detected hydrogen ions generated by the ACh–AChE reaction. A polyion complex membrane composed of poly(L-lysine) and poly(4-styrenesulfonate) was used to immobilize the enzyme on the sensor. The improved uniformity and adhesion of the polyion complex membrane were evaluated in this study. As a result, temporal and spatial fluctuations of the ACh image sensor were successfully minimized using this approach. The sensitivity of the sensor was 4.2 mV/mM, and its detection limit was 20 µM. In five repeated measurements, the repeatability was 8.8%.