Lyocell-modal thread microfluidic platform integrated with a microneedle sensor for lactate detection in saliva.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Growing demand for flexible, hydrophilic microfluidic substrates in wearable and point-of-care (POC) biosensing.
• Limitations of conventional microfluidic systems in terms of flexibility and liquid transport.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel lyocell-based thread microfluidic platform for electrochemical biosensing.
• To evaluate the platform's liquid transport capabilities, electrochemical sensing performance, and potential for POCT.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a microfluidic device using a lyocell-based thread and polypropylene mesh.
• Characterization of liquid transport properties and electrochemical sensing of analytes (ferrocyanide, lactate).
• Integration with microneedle-based electrochemical sensors and testing with human saliva samples.

Main Results:

• Lyocell demonstrated intrinsic capillary efficiency and stable liquid transport comparable to treated cotton.
• The integrated lactate sensor showed a strong log-linear correlation with low limits of detection (0.433 mM via CA, 0.51 mM via DPV).
• High correlation (R=0.94) observed between salivary and blood lactate levels in human saliva testing.

Conclusions:

• The lyocell-modal hybrid microfluidic platform is a sustainable, low-cost, and scalable solution for electrochemical POCT.
• This platform shows promise for next-generation lab-on-fabric systems and wearable biosensing applications.