Evaluation of dried blood spot sampling for verification of exposure to chemical threat agents
Walker et al.
The finding, in our words
The study validated Mitra VAMS devices for detecting nerve agent, sulfur mustard and opioid metabolites in dried human blood, achieving sensitivities between 0.05 and 1 ng/mL across analytes with acceptable precision, accuracy and recovery, supporting their use as a simpler alternative to refrigerated sample transport for forensic exposure verification.
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.
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.
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.
Researchers validated a UHPLC-MS/MS assay for citrinin in capillary blood collected with Neoteryx Mitra VAMS devices, plus feces and urine, achieving quantification limits of 0.05 ng/mL. The study derived human toxicokinetic parameters from 48-hour sample collection after a single oral dose, demonstrating that microsampling enables robust population-level exposure assessment for mycotoxins.
A VAMS method using Mitra devices for whole blood lead quantification showed no significant difference compared with the centre's routine method, supporting VAMS as a practical alternative for blood lead and other trace element analyses.