Table 1 Summary of main sweat lactate monitoring methods and a comparison of their advantages

Lactate dehydrogenase method

Wearable sensor [21, 27, 28]

0.05 mM

5–100 mM

20–60 mM

5 min [21]

Simple and economical

Assess changes in lactic acid associated with anaerobic threshold during endurance training and monitor lactic acidosis in critical care patients

Lab [2, 15, 20]

Measure the range depending on the kit

12.5 min

Economical

Potential applications of soft tissue skin conditions

Electrochemical detection

Voltage method [27]

Wearable sensor

20–60 mM [27]

Real time

High sensitivity, low cost, and small size

Simple, non-invasive monitoring of sweat biomarkers on a regular daily basis

Resistance method [10]

3–100 mM

2–3 min

It is more stable and lasts 6 months

For future non-invasive real-time clinical studies and sports medicine

Amperometric detection [22,23,24, 28]

51 μM

0.01–18.4 mM

Real time

High sensitivity, excellent selective for lactate

Devices on a chip that have the potential for a wide variety of applications in biosensors, bioelectronics, and labs

Colorimetric chemistry techniques [25, 29, 30]

0–20 mM

1–100 mM

Real time

Lighter, cheaper, and smaller

Fitness, cycling, and long distance cycling races in both dry and outdoor conditions

MALDI-MS [2, 15, 20]

Lab

20.6–72.9 mM

Delay

One of the most important monitoring methods

The primary method for sweat lactate detection

MRI [19]

MRI room

–

Delay in detection results

Thirty-four different metabolites were detected quantitatively

Insufficient data

Composites [31,32,33,34]

Wearable sensor

1–180 mM [31]

1–100 mM [32]

Real time

Finding multiple target analytes [32]

Diagnostic and physiological surveillance applications