GEN-MKT-18-7897-A
Jan 24, 2019 | Blogs, Forensic | 0 comments
Anyone with children will remember that moment in the hospital when the nurse pricks the heel of your tiny new baby to squeeze out a few drops of blood onto a card. It’s an anxious moment but it’s over in a flash, and necessary to screen for rare but serious health conditions. This dried blood spot sampling technique was first introduced 55 years ago, and it has become the method of choice for newborn screening around the world.
But what does this have to do with forensic testing of novel psychoactive substances, after all, it is quite a leap to talk about newborn babies and then onto designer drugs? While dried blood spot sampling and analysis had to overcome hurdles in the early days, particularly due to low analytical throughput, there is a very good reason for its increasing attention in recent years in other applications.
It offers a faster, simpler alternative to serum/plasma or whole blood analysis in drug monitoring for toxicological analysis. In the tech note LC-MS/MS Screening of 64 New Psychoactive Substances Using Dried Blood Spots (as an Alternative to Whole Blood) we demonstrate the advantages, and here’s a rundown:
Sounds good, so what’s the catch? The small sample volume also means that the concentration of the target analyte is potentially quite low (e.g., less than 1 ng/L), requiring a highly sensitive and selective analysis method for detection and quantification. But in theory, there isn’t a catch if there is a solution, mass spectrometry. It is now the most common technique reported in literature for dried blood spot analysis and Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) sets the benchmark.
In our method, researchers use the highly sensitive QTRAP® LC-MS/MS in Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mode using the Scheduled MRM™ Algorithm. The method is applied to authentic samples, and results are compared to a validated whole blood method used for routine analysis of NPS, yielding similar results. LOD was between 1 and 10 ng/ml, no interference from matrix compounds was observed, and the method was proven to be specific and selective for the analytes.
Fill out the form on your right to download the 2018 Forensics Compendium to see this method in its full glory, along with recent advancements developed by the forensics team and a view on where LC-MS/MS technology could take forensics in the future.
Regulated laboratories are evolving faster than ever. New analytical modalities, higher sample throughput, increasing regulatory scrutiny, and leaner teams are reshaping how work gets done. At the same time, expectations for data integrity, standardization, and operational efficiency continue to increase complexity and/or scope. In this environment, LC-MS software is no longer simply an instrument control platform—it has become a critical part of a laboratory’s quality management system. The question is no longer whether your lab has changed, but whether your software has evolved to support the way regulated labs operate today, and if they are ready and able to meet the demands, they will face tomorrow.
Analyst software has long been a trusted foundation in regulated LC-MS laboratories—and for many, it still performs reliably today. But regulated environments are evolving faster than ever. As labs transition to Windows 11, strengthen cybersecurity policies, modernize IT infrastructure, and prepare for future compliance expectations, software decisions are no longer just about what works today—they’re about managing tomorrow’s risk. Analyst will not be supported on Windows 11. While some labs may continue operating in unsupported environments temporarily, the bigger question is: when that risk becomes reality, will your lab be reacting under pressure—or executing a planned mitigation strategy with confidence?
As regulatory scrutiny increases and detection requirements tighten, laboratories are facing a new question: How can TFA be measured reliably, sensitively, and at scale?
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