What Is Left for Real-Life Lactate Monitoring? Current Advances in Electrochemical Lactate (Bio)Sensors for Agrifood and Biomedical Applications
Juan José García-Guzmán,
Alfonso Sierra-Padilla,
José María Palacios-Santander,
Juan Jesús Fernández-Alba,
Carmen González Macías,
Laura Cubillana-Aguilera
Affiliations
Juan José García-Guzmán
Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cadiz (INiBICA), Hospital Universitario ‘Puerta del Mar’, Universidad de Cadiz, 11009 Cadiz, Spain
Alfonso Sierra-Padilla
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Research on Electron Microscopy and Materials (IMEYMAT), Faculty of Sciences, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEIMAR), University of Cadiz, Campus Universitario de Puerto Real, Polígono del Río San Pedro S/N, Puerto Real, 11510 Cadiz, Spain
José María Palacios-Santander
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Research on Electron Microscopy and Materials (IMEYMAT), Faculty of Sciences, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEIMAR), University of Cadiz, Campus Universitario de Puerto Real, Polígono del Río San Pedro S/N, Puerto Real, 11510 Cadiz, Spain
Juan Jesús Fernández-Alba
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital Universitario de Puerto Real, Puerto Real, 11510 Cadiz, Spain
Carmen González Macías
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital Universitario de Puerto Real, Puerto Real, 11510 Cadiz, Spain
Laura Cubillana-Aguilera
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Research on Electron Microscopy and Materials (IMEYMAT), Faculty of Sciences, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEIMAR), University of Cadiz, Campus Universitario de Puerto Real, Polígono del Río San Pedro S/N, Puerto Real, 11510 Cadiz, Spain
Monitoring of lactate is spreading from the evident clinical environment, where its role as a biomarker is notorious, to the agrifood ambit as well. In the former, lactate concentration can serve as a useful indicator of several diseases (e.g., tumour development and lactic acidosis) and a relevant value in sports performance for athletes, among others. In the latter, the spotlight is placed on the food control, bringing to the table meaningful information such as decaying product detection and stress monitoring of species. No matter what purpose is involved, electrochemical (bio)sensors stand as a solid and suitable choice. However, for the time being, this statement seems to be true only for discrete measurements. The reality exposes that real and continuous lactate monitoring is still a troublesome goal. In this review, a critical overview of electrochemical lactate (bio)sensors for clinical and agrifood situations is performed. Additionally, the transduction possibilities and different sensor designs approaches are also discussed. The main aim is to reflect the current state of the art and to indicate relevant advances (and bottlenecks) to keep in mind for further development and the final achievement of this highly worthy objective.
