HemaXis DB10 for
Simplifying drug screening
The objective of drug screening is to detect and identify in a precise and unambiguous way all substances of interest that were consummed by the patient. Within the last decade, LC-HRMS emerged as a very powerful approach for the development of screening procedures. The availability of highly sensitive and specific instruments opened the way for faster and more comprehensive screening procedures that require minimal sample volume.
Urine is considered the gold standard for initial investigation. This matrix, which concentrates drugs and their metabolites, can be collected non-invasively in large volumes and offers a relatively large detection window. However, urine gives information on the past behavior of the patient. The information on whether the patient was under the influence of any substance at a given time can only be provided by blood. In addition, the way urine is generally collected gives way to potential tampering. Because all steps of blood collection are directly supervised, this risk is greatly limited.
One limitation of blood screening is that conventional approaches require a venipuncture to be performed by a phlebotomist. This can be a important logistical issue, particularly in the context of on-field interventions such as DUID investigations or work-place testing. HemaXis™ DB10 offers a convenient solution to collect blood, in a way that is much less invasive and easy than a conventional venipuncture. The group of Pr Thomas of the University Center of Legal Medicine in Geneva evaluated the performances of a broad-spectrum blood screening procedure by LC-HRMS on DBS samples.
Method summary
A double extraction is performed using two 10 µL DBS, in order to achieve good extraction recoveries for a maximum of compounds with different physico-chemical properties.
Briefly: Two 10-µL DBS are punched out using a 7-mm puncher and transferred into two separate micro-tubes (1). One DBS is extracted in 100 µL of methanol by agitating for 2 min (2). The other DBS is extracted 100 µL of 0.5 M Borate buffer (pH=9.5) by agitating for 2 min (3). An LLE is then performed with 300 µL of dichloromethane:hexane:ethyl acetate (5:4:1) (4). Extracts are mixing together, and the organic solvents are evaporated to dryness under a gently flow of nitrogen (5). The dry residue is reconstituted with 50 µL of water (6) and transferred into an injection vial (7).
Analysis were performed at the University Center of Legal Medicine in Lausanne on a Thermo Scientific Ultimate 3000 LC system coupled to a Thermo Scientific LC-Q Exactive Plus mass spectrometer (see paper for details).
Performances summary
The limits of detection and identification was assessed for a group of 30 drugs of interest.
In spite of the very low volume of the DBS samples, the LOI of all selected model compounds remained lower than their respective legal threshold or therapeutic range, when defined.
Advantages of HemaXis DB10
The HemaXis DB10 collection device uses patented microfluidic technology to simplify all steps of blood analysis.
HemaXis DB10 enables the collection of a controlled volume of blood from a simple prick at the patient’s fingertip. The blood sample is then directly transferred onto a filter paper card, without the need for any other equipment (precision pipette, glass capillary, etc). The collection can be done by anyone after rapid training.
Once dried, the contamination risk by blood borne pathogenes is limited, and samples are stable. HemaXis DB10 devices can be shipped for analysis to the laboratory.
SIMPLIFIED COLLECTION
Blood samples can be collected quickly and easily at the patient’s fingertip
SIMPLIFIED ANALYSIS
Samples can be quickly analyzed in the lab using automated processes, or easily stored for later use
SIMPLIFIED LOGISTICS
Samples can be stored at room temperature and shipped by standard mail service to the lab
RELIABLE RESULTS
The standardization of sample collection using HemaXis™ DB10 guaranties quantitation accuracy and precision
Blood drug testing is Easier and More Efficient with HemaXis DB10
With HemaXis DB10, blood is easily collected at the fingertip, which makes it the ideal device for on-field collection. It opens the way to simpler and reliable DUID or post-accident investigations, work-place testing or studies on remote populations.
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