Blood and Plasma Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling (VAMS) Coupled to LC-MS/MS for the Forensic Assessment of Cocaine Consumption
Mandrioli et al.
The finding, in our words
The study validated a VAMS method for cocaine and metabolites in blood and plasma, achieving good extraction yield, precision and accuracy with analyte stability exceeding two months at room temperature. Results from VAMS correlated well with conventional fluid samples, supporting its use for decentralised forensic and toxicological monitoring without venepuncture or cold chain.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
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.
Chen et al., Analytica chimica acta (paywalled) · source ↗
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.
A validated two-step LC-MS/MS protocol can identify 91 prohibited doping agents from a single dried blood spot collected on either cellulose cards or volumetric absorptive microsampling devices. This demonstrates robust multi-analyte screening from capillary blood, supporting decentralised anti-doping programmes where venous sampling is impractical.