An integrated optical sensor for online monitoring of lactate concentration
Cai H., Wu MH., Cui Z.
A microfluidic device with integrated optical fibres was developed for online monitoring of lactate. The device consists of a SU-8 waveguide, microfluidic channels and grooves for the insertion of optical fibers. Different channel widths (50~300μm) were tested. A wide range of flow rates were applied to investigate the influence of flow rate on signal fluctuations. The separation between optical fiber sensor and microfluidic channel and the width of fluidic channel have been optimized to maximize the detection sensitivity. Compared with conventional lactate detection, the device has higher accuracy, relatively low limit of detection (50mg/L) and reasonably fast response time (100 sec). The fabrication of device is simple and low cost. The present work has provided some fundamental data for further system optimization to meet specific detection requirements. © 2005 IEEE.