A Novel Clay Based Electrocatalyst for Lactate Detection in Saliva and Blood Samples during Exercise in Athletes

In this research, a new non-enzymatic amperometric sensor has been developed for the determination of lactate based on a sepiolite@Pt electrocatalyst. The uniform dispersion of small-sized platinum nanoparticles (NPs) leads to optimized electron transfer kinetics, thereby low lactate detection ability of the modified carbon paste electrode (CPE). The innovative sensing platform demonstrates a linear response to lactate concentrations ranging from 10 to 1100 µM. By using a signal-to-noise ratio of 3σ, a detection limit of 2 µM was established. Moreover, the precise analysis of lactate in human fluids suggests that the proposed method is a highly specific tool for lactate monitoring. Notably, the sensor’s capabilities were extended to include the measurement of lactate concentrations in saliva samples obtained during sport practice. The proposed method offers a cost-effective and efficient means of lactate monitoring, enabling rapid analysis times and streamlined clinical testing procedures.