Analytical and usability comparison of microsampling dried blood spot devices for glucocorticoid detection in sports using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
Chen et al.
The finding, in our words
This study compared four dried blood spot devices for glucocorticoid detection, finding that the Mitra VAMS device offered the best combination of analytical recovery and user usability, whilst the HemaXis DB10 showed the least bias compared to whole blood.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
A 2025 review maps 28 microsampling devices, from dried spots and volumetric absorptive tips to upper-arm liquid capillary collectors, and names what a laboratory must control before their results are used: the haematocrit effect in non-volumetric dried samples, interstitial fluid from finger milking, volume, haemolysis and transport stability. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic ask for the same two things, a device the patient can use safely and a sample fit for the test.
The study compared five microsampling devices, including Mitra tips and Tasso-M20, for detecting 27 steroid esters in dried blood by LC-MS/MS, and found that methanol extraction with Girard's reagent P or T provided the best screening sensitivity with detection limits of 0.05 to 1.0 ng/mL, while methoxyamine derivatization was recommended for confirming boldenone and certain testosterone esters. The Tasso-M20 device produced chromatographic interference with methanol extraction that was only partially resolved by using mixed solvents, at the cost of lower recoveries.
Mazzarino et al., Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis (paywalled) · source ↗
The study developed and validated an LC-MS/MS method for THC, its metabolites and synthetic cannabinoids in both dried blood spots and VAMS, showing that VAMS eliminates the haematocrit effect that limits DBS accuracy, thereby providing a reliable tool for toxicological and anti-doping analysis in decentralised settings.
Protti et al., Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences (paywalled) · source ↗
The analysis indicates that dried blood spots and volumetric absorptive microsampling enable minimally invasive monitoring of prohibited substances, with volumetric absorptive microsampling offering improved quantitative reliability over traditional dried spots.
This review found that volumetric microsampling devices, such as Mitra, HemaPEN, HemaXis DB10, and Tasso-M20, overcome haematocrit bias, whilst Telimmune plasma separation cards enable direct plasma collection without centrifugation. These technologies support patient-centric, decentralised sampling, though the authors note that clinical validation remains limited across different drugs and patient populations.
Huhn & Scherf-Clavel, Therapeutic drug monitoring (paywalled) · source ↗