2016 · Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis · paywalled
LC-MS/MS and volumetric absorptive microsampling for quantitative bioanalysis of cathinone analogues in dried urine, plasma and oral fluid samples
Mercolini et al.
The finding, in our words
The study developed and validated an LC-MS/MS method using volumetric absorptive microsampling to quantify cathinone analogues in dried urine, plasma and oral fluid, showing satisfactory linearity, precision, recovery, matrix effects, selectivity and stability, and was applied to real samples from users, offering a reliable decentralised sampling strategy for forensic toxicology and sport drug testing.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
This review highlights that microsampling techniques such as dried blood spots and volumetric absorptive microsampling offer superior alternatives to traditional sampling for the mass spectrometry detection of prohibited substances in anti-doping analysis. It provides guidance on selecting appropriate analytical methods and sample pretreatment strategies to ensure sensitive detection and reliable storage conditions.
Confirms urine is the second-most-applied VAMS matrix in forensics, collecting a consistent volume regardless of viscosity and enabling room-temperature storage and shipping.
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.
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.