Product Milestone: NanoPak‑C 3D‑Printed Monoliths for Biologics Chromatography

Millennial Scientific is pleased to announce the successful fabrication of NanoPak‑C 3D‑printed monoliths, marking a significant advancement in our product development pipeline. This milestone represents the culmination of formulation development and additive manufacturing studies using all‑carbon microbeads as tuning media for chromatographic applications.

Rationale and Design Strategy

Figure: Digital images of 3D printed monoliths of different configurations fabricated using All Carbon microbeads as starting material.

Miniaturized analytical workflows, particularly in single‑cell proteomics and low‑volume sample handling [1], face persistent barriers: analyte loss during transfer from microfluidic devices, limited throughput, and high per-experiment cost. Our research targets the “world‑to‑chip” interface—the stage that bridges macroscopic sample collection and microscale analytical platforms [2]. To address this, we have developed 3D‑printed monolithic devices that retain the microwell‑plate form factor while enabling reduced dimensions and optimized geometries for micro‑ to nanoliter‐scale operations.

We have explored bioprinting on various substrates, including Petri dishes, to evaluate adhesion, fidelity, and scalability. The resulting monoliths demonstrate structural integrity, tunable porosity, and compatibility with diverse biological sample types, including cell suspensions, tissue biopsies, and nanopipette‑retrieved isolates.

Functional Direction and Applications

Our current objective is to extend these microstructured materials for use in integrated solid‑phase extraction (SPE) and chromatography for ultra‑limited samples. These devices serve dual roles:

(1) Enrichment of target biomolecules (e.g., protein subsets) from complex mixtures.

(2) High‑resolution separation of those analytes for downstream detection and quantification.

In pre‑analytical proteomics, particularly for disease characterization and biomanufacturing, processing minuscule, compositionally complex biological matrices is a major challenge. Existing SPE and chromatographic systems—whether packed powder beds, monolith tips, or conventional columns—often exhibit non‑uniform flow paths, high backpressure, and inconsistent efficiency, thereby degrading analytical reproducibility in small‑volume workflows.

Comparison with Conventional Materials

Recent reports using 2D micro‑pillar silica arrays [3], fabricated via lithography and coated with functional hydrophobic molecules, show how ordered architectures enhance small‑volume separations. However, such platforms are costly and limited in scalability. Similarly, most 3D‑printed stationary phases [4] rely on proprietary materials that offer little room for tuning physical or chemical surface properties—a drawback when dealing with large or charged biomolecules such as IgG, viral particles, or mRNA. Our approach employs customizable carbon formulations, enabling chemical and structural optimization for varying analyte classes and separation mechanisms, including ion exchange and multimodal chromatography.

Outlook

As we refine NanoPak‑C materials and printing protocols, our aim is to expand the analytical and preparative utility of 3D‑printed carbon monoliths across biologics research and manufacturing. We invite collaborators from academia and industry to engage with us on custom formulations or proof‑of‑concept studies.

For inquiries or collaborations, or if you are interested in evaluating NanoPak-C all-carbon microbeads, please contact our technical team at inquiry@millennialscientific.com, call us at 855 388 2800, or fill out our online contact form at www.millennialscientific.com/contact.

References

1. R.T. Kelly, Single-Cell Proteomics: Progress And Prospects, Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 19(11) (2020) 1739-1748.

2. J. Liu, C. Hansen, S.R. Quake, Solving The “World-To-Chip” Interface Problem With A Microfluidic Matrix, Analytical Chemistry 75(18) (2003) 4718-4723.

3. K. Stejskal, J. Op De Beeck, G. Dürnberger, P. Jacobs, K. Mechtler, Ultrasensitive Nanolc-MS Of Subnanogram Protein Samples Using Second Generation Micropillar Array LC Technology With Orbitrap Exploris 480 And FAIMS PRO, Analytical Chemistry 93(25) (2021) 8704-8710.

4. C. Salmean, S. Dimartino, 3D-Printed Stationary Phases With Ordered Morphology: State Of The Art And Future Development In Liquid Chromatography, Chromatographia 82(1) (2019) 443-463.