Dried blood spot cards: A reliable sampling method to detect human antibodies against rabies virus

The study validated a semi-quantitative protocol for Epstein-Barr virus serology using dried blood spots, demonstrating 98.8% sensitivity and 96.5% specificity compared to paired venous serum samples. The successful validation in a self-sampling cohort confirms the suitability of this patient-centric microsampling approach for large-scale seroprevalence studies and decentralised trials.

A dried blood spot protocol for high-throughput semi-quantitative analysis of Epstein-Barr Virus VCA IgG and EBNA IgG serologies based on the Roche Elecsys system — Rubio-Acero et al., Virology journal · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• capillary
• dbs
• self-collection
• validation
• venous-agreement
• serology

Capillary samples collected using dried blood spots and Mitra microsamplers showed strong agreement with venous plasma for quantifying IgG antibodies against most vaccine-preventable diseases. Sensitivity was high for the majority of pathogens, though the study noted that antibody stability declined at room temperature over time, favouring cold storage for longer durations.

Comparison of capillary microsampling and venous blood for multi-pathogen serosurveillance — Ombati et al., Scientific reports (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• capillary
• vams
• dbs
• neoteryx-mitra
• validation
• venous-agreement
• serology

The review found dried blood spot sampling correlates strongly with plasma for HIV-1 viral load and offers simplified collection, transport and storage without cold-chain. This could expand access to monitoring in resource-limited settings and improve clinical outcomes through earlier detection of treatment failure.

Revolutionizing HIV-1 Viral Load Monitoring in India: The Potential of Dried Blood Spot Analysis for Expanding Access and Improving Care — Chandane Tak et al., Healthcare · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• validation
• venous-agreement
• serology

Self-collected dried blood spots analysed on the Roche Elecsys platform gave quantitative anti-spike antibody results that agreed closely with paired venous samples, with sensitivity 96.63% and specificity 97.81% and a conversion formula across 0.018 to 250 U/mL, enabling accurate tracking of titre changes in longitudinal cohorts after vaccination.

A Dried Blood Spot protocol for high-throughput quantitative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 RBD serology based on the Roche Elecsys system — Castelletti et al., Microbiology spectrum · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• validation
• venous-agreement
• serology

Dried blood spot eluates showed high agreement with serum for SARS-CoV-2 IgG against Spike and Nucleocapsid (r≈0.96; qualitative φ≈0.98–1.0) and remained stable after 6–8 hours of storage, supporting use of capillary DBS for serosurveys and decentralised testing.

Dried blood spot eluates are suitable for testing of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies targeting Spike protein 1 and Nucleocapsid protein — Guttmann et al., Biochemistry and biophysics reports · source ↗

• venous-agreement
• blood
• dbs
• self-collection
• dried
• serology
• capillary
• validation