2025 · Journal of immunological methods · paywalled
Validation of at-home blood sampling for large scale, cost effective serological analysis for anti-viral antibody responses
Mayer et al.
The finding, in our words
The study found very strong correlation between venous blood collection and capillary VAMS using Mitra devices for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies, with samples remaining stable at room temperature for several months. This enables reliable at-home, patient-centric serological testing for large-scale community surveillance and vaccine studies.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Capillary blood collected by fingerstick with the Mitra volumetric absorptive microsampling device showed near identical sensitivity and specificity for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies compared with venous serum when analysed with the Roche Elecsys assay. This validation enables decentralised, patient-centric serology testing for remote or at-home use and large-scale community seroprevalence studies.
Garcia-Beltran et al., Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine (paywalled) · source ↗
VAMS capillary blood showed strong agreement with venous serum for measuring anti-influenza antibodies and remained stable for three weeks at room temperature. When volunteers performed finger-stick sampling at home, their results were highly consistent with on-site collection by study personnel.
Wang et al., Journal of clinical and translational science · source ↗
Capillary samples collected using dried blood spots and Mitra microsamplers showed strong agreement with venous plasma for quantifying IgG antibodies against most vaccine-preventable diseases. Sensitivity was high for the majority of pathogens, though the study noted that antibody stability declined at room temperature over time, favouring cold storage for longer durations.
Ombati et al., Scientific reports (paywalled) · source ↗
This study established conversion methods for estimating plasma concentrations from whole blood VAMS samples for seven out of ten oral anticancer drugs, finding good agreement between capillary and venous samples. Patients reported a positive experience with home sampling using this microsampling technique.
Meertens et al., Therapeutic drug monitoring · source ↗
Capillary blood self-collected with the VAMS device showed 100 per cent agreement with serum for detecting SARS-CoV-2 S RBD antibodies in participants with known past infection, and saliva showed slightly lower but high agreement; agreement was good to almost perfect in those without known antibodies, and most participants found finger prick easy while half found the microsampler easy, supporting decentralised serosurveillance.