Automated LC/MS for Dried Blood-Spot Analysis

Agilent Technologies Inc have introduced the Agilent Automated Card Extraction LC/MS system, a fully integrated instrument for the analysis of dried blood spots and other dried media. Ideal for pharmaceutical and clinical research laboratories, the AACE LC/MS provides an integrated, automated workflow solution to improve productivity and streamline sample processing.

Dried blood-spot analysis can be used in pharmaceutical as well as other settings to obtain detailed quantitative data about the compounds in animals and human subjects, using small volumes of blood (typically 10 to 20μl). The stability of blood spots is often superior to frozen plasma or serum samples.

Agilent already supports dried blood-spot analysis for hole-punch methodologies, and this new product provides an automated online system for direct LC/MS analysis.

“Developed with our partners at Prolab Gmbh, this new system expands the capabilities of our existing line of advanced LC/MS systems,” said Lester Taylor, Agilent Marketing Director, LC/MS Division. “High sensitivity quantitation of drugs is a key component of pharmaceutical and clinical research, and the Agilent AACE LC/MS offers customers a fully automated solution.”

The AACE LC/MS uses the Agilent 6400 Series Triple Quadrupole LC/MS system to perform quantitative analysis. Data processing is performed using Agilent MassHunter software, providing a common user interface for research laboratories that use other Agilent LC/MS systems.

Additional product features include: a single software system that controls analytical setup and sample analysis; a camera to capture the card image and record the barcode for easy sample tracking; a shorter overall cycle time from one injection to the next, achieved by overlapping the extraction step and analytical cycle.