A Self-Powered Lactate Sensor Based on the Piezoelectric Effect for Assessing Tumor Development.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Oncology

Background:

• Lactate accumulation is an early indicator of malignancy.
• Tumor microenvironment lactate concentration is key for primary tumor analysis.
• Novel diagnostic tools are needed for early cancer detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design a self-powered lactate sensor for rapid tumor sample analysis.
• To utilize the piezoelectric effect and enzymatic reaction for lactate detection.
• To explore the application of this sensor in estimating primary tumor growth and metastasis risk.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a ZnO nanowire array modified with lactate oxidase (LOx).
• Coupling of piezoelectric effect with enzymatic reaction for signal generation.
• In situ detection of lactate concentration in tumor microenvironments without external power.

Main Results:

• The self-powered sensor achieved a lactate detection upper limit of at least 27 mM.
• A limit of detection (LOD) of approximately 1.3 mM and a rapid 10s response time were recorded.
• Biological experiments confirmed the sensor's utility in estimating tumor growth and metastasis likelihood.

Conclusions:

• Self-powered technology offers a novel approach for in situ tumor microenvironment detection.
• This lactate sensor provides valuable data for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
• The study expands the application of self-powered devices in medical diagnostics.