Patient-Centric Assessment of Thiamine Status in Dried Blood Volumetric Absorptive Microsamples Using LC-MS/MS Analysis
Verstraete & Stove
The finding, in our words
The authors validated an LC-MS/MS method for measuring thiamine diphosphate in dried blood collected by VAMS, achieving accuracy within 6.5% bias and imprecision below 13% CV. The method was unaffected by haematocrit variation and showed superior stability, with samples remaining stable for one week at 60°C or high humidity and for at least one month at room temperature, enabling thiamine screening without cold chain logistics.
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.
An LC-MS/MS assay using volumetric absorptive microsampling achieved 72.5% to 98.9% accuracy and under 8% precision for measuring circulating endocannabinoids and related lipid mediators. However, drying time significantly altered 2-AG and 2-OG concentrations, and marked differences were observed between whole blood and plasma measurements.
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.
This review surveyed the use of VAMS devices for analysing endogenous metabolites and biomarkers across the full analytical workflow, finding them reliable for biological analysis with improved analyte stability over liquid blood at ambient temperature and a straightforward acquisition model well suited to decentralised diagnostics.
Microsampling reduces sample volume, invasiveness, logistics and biohazard risk while improving stability and enabling at-home self-sampling, yet clinical adoption remains slow and requires standardisation and harmonisation to realise its patient-centric and decentralised potential.
Thangavelu et al., Analytical science advances · source ↗