Magnet Assisted Lactic Acid Detection in Biological Samples

This study revolves around the lactic acid, whose detection provides information about metabolic state and muscle fatigue. Apart from an initial theoretical section covering electrochemical sensors, the importance of lactate detection, and the role of nanoparticles in sensing, this work presents the development of an electrochemical sensor for lactic acid detection, emphasizing the type of functionalization used with mill-scale nanoparticles to detect acid lactic in real samples. A static sweat sampling approach using droplet method has been employed, reducing setup complexity and need of additional hardware. The results focus on an in vitro characterization using artificial samples, with lactic acid concentrations ranging from 0 mM to 26 mM. This is followed by an ex vivo analysis conducted on real samples, where the lactic acid molarity is determined through HPLC analysis and falls within the range of 6 mM to 21 mM. During the study, the use of a N35 magnet proved to be effective in stabilizing the nanoparticles, improving the overall sensor performance. Comsol simulations were conducted to assess the impact of the magnetic field, further validating the effectiveness of this approach, whose progression emphasizes the reliability of the system and its potential for practical applications. Future perspectives include improving the manufacturing efficiency of the sensor to facilitate large-scale production and ensure greater reproducibility of results.