2026 · Frontiers in sports and active living · open access
Stressing the limits of capillary blood in anti-doping analysis: perspectives on alkylamine-like stimulants and carbonic anhydrase II inhibitors in result management
da Costa Nunes et al.
The finding, in our words
Capillary blood collected by volumetric absorptive microsampling gave a shorter detection window than urine for a stimulant, helping to distinguish recent from earlier use, and more reliable detection of long-acting diuretics that bind red cells. This shows microsampling can improve interpretation in drug-monitoring programmes where urinary data alone may be ambiguous.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
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.
PEth reference values for Belgium were derived from VAMS microsampling of 487 participants in a national survey, showing distinct biomarker distributions between the general population and higher‑alcohol‑consumption subgroups. This validates capillary blood collection as a practical method for decentralised alcohol monitoring and forensic assessment.
Vandenbroucke et al., Drug and alcohol dependence reports · source ↗
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 ↗
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.
Chen et al., Analytica chimica acta (paywalled) · source ↗
The authors found that a single microdose of recombinant EPO was detectable up to 72 hours using ITP and CP methods, though the Tasso microsampling device showed lower sensitivity than Mitra and Capitainer. Additionally, isotope ratio mass spectrometry successfully detected testosterone micro-dosing in all analysed samples, supported by serum testosterone levels.
Heiland et al., Drug testing and analysis · source ↗