Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Multivariate Analysis for Fingerprinting Clinically Similar Fibromyalgia and Long COVID Syndromes
Nuguri et al.
The finding, in our words
Volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) yielded superior classification of fibromyalgia and long COVID compared with dried blood spots when analysed by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, delivering 100% accuracy, sensitivity and specificity with an area under the curve of 0.86. The method identified discriminatory metabolites from low-molecular-weight blood fractions, showing that VAMS can support decentralised metabolomic diagnostics for syndromes with overlapping clinical features.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
A comparison of three patient-centric dried blood microsampling devices, paper DBS, Mitra and Tasso-M20, found strong to excellent correlation with traditional venous plasma for measuring branched-chain amino acids and ketoacids. Participants reported high acceptability and expressed a strong willingness to use these devices for decentralised self-collection.
In an untargeted metabolomics study, microsampling devices, particularly the Mitra and Capitainer, yielded metabolic profiles comparable or superior to plasma in feature number and intensity, and in the precision and stability of some metabolites. This supports their potential for large-scale, decentralised metabolic profiling, though the captured metabolite profile was application-dependent.
Volumetric absorptive microsampling showed better precision than dried blood spots and a metabolic profile closer to whole blood, with stable signalling lipids for 24 hours at room temperature but significant changes after one week unless stabilised, indicating feasibility for decentralised sampling with the need for storage strategies.
Thangavelu et al., Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · source ↗
The authors developed and optimised a dual LC-MS workflow for non-targeted metabolomics from blood microsamples, comprising a 15-minute HILIC-MS method for polar metabolites and an RPLC-MS method for mid- to non-polar compounds. A 20% water/80% methanol extraction with rehydration offered a practical compromise that detected numerous metabolite features across amino acid, acylcarnitine and bile acid pathways, enabling decentralised metabolomic analysis.
Couacault & Witting, Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · source ↗
Untargeted metabolomic profiles from three blood microsampling devices aligned more closely with whole blood than with plasma, and all devices distinguished sex based on amino acids, lipids, and acylcarnitines. This validates that device choice can be tailored to the metabolites of interest for decentralised human biomonitoring.
Avella et al., Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · source ↗