2019 · The Science of the total environment · paywalled
Dried blood spots for reliable biomonitoring of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)
Poothong et al.
The finding, in our words
Finger prick dried blood spots correlated strongly with venous whole blood for poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, achieving Spearman coefficients between 0.72 and 0.97. The method requires only 30 μL of blood, enabling decentralised biomonitoring of environmental toxins with minimal burden.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
This study validated a method for measuring the alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol using two volumetric absorptive microsampling devices, finding that the Mitra device met all validation criteria and agreed with venous sampling. The Capitainer device was deemed suitable but showed reduced accuracy at higher concentrations, with a small proportional negative bias compared to venous results.
Andreassen et al., Journal of analytical toxicology (paywalled) · source ↗
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.
Lead can be measured accurately in dried blood spots by ICP-MS only when matrix-matched calibrators are used; aqueous calibrators perform poorly. The three methods evaluated showed strong agreement with whole blood analysis and offer a robust option for decentralised lead screening in children, though the recognised limitations of dried blood spots remain.
Franco et al., Journal of mass spectrometry and advances in the clinical lab · source ↗
In AML and CLL, 91% of VAMS venetoclax results fell within 20% of plasma after individualised haematocrit correction; in home sampling, 18 of 21 patients self-sampled independently and 76% of returned samples were analysable, which shows home microsampling is workable, though the authors ask for multicentre validation.
Levens et al., Clinical Pharmacokinetics (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.