Microsampling of proteins from biological matrices: sampling methods and devices, typical workflows, clinical examples, novel applications and innovations
Halvorsen et al.
The finding, in our words
This review finds that dried microsampling has matured from simple blood spots into diverse devices capable of therapeutic drug monitoring, multiplex biomarker profiling, and multi-omics, with integrated smart sampling and dried immunoassays now ready for field use. The main barriers to clinical translation remain standardisation, automation, and demonstrating full analytical equivalence to venous sampling across protein applications.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
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.
Microsampling enables less invasive, patient-centric self-collection of capillary blood for remote monitoring of metabolites and lipids, overcoming conventional venipuncture constraints. Recent device innovations address dried blood spot limitations, particularly haematocrit and volume variations, expanding decentralised applications in population health, drug discovery and multi-omics research.
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.
This study validated a dried blood spot method for tacrolimus monitoring and demonstrated agreement with venous whole blood measurements in kidney transplant recipients. It also found that dried blood spot analysis of the biomarker CXCL-10 was elevated in patients experiencing rejection or infection, supporting its use for decentralised monitoring.
This review establishes that microsampling across blood, saliva, urine and stool matrices offers validated workflows and regulatory recognition for human biomonitoring comparable to conventional methods. It finds that these decentralised approaches enhance participant acceptability and enable screening in remote or low-resource settings.