Dried Blood Spot Analysis
Dr Sangeeta Tanna and Dr Graham Lawson from the Pharmacy Practice Research Group have developed liquid chromatography- mass spectrometry based micro-analytical methods to identify and quantify therapeutic drugs present in a 5mm diameter blood spot collected on a sampling card from a finger or heel prick.
The ability to analyse such small volumes of blood means that for the first time drug uptake in sick newborn babies can be assessed and their clinical care optimised on the basis of the data obtained thus improving their treatment.
These developed analytical methods have been applied to dried blood spot samples obtained from paediatric patients in University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) and Sheffield Children’s Hospital and so the impact of this research on patients currently in care is already underway
Drs Tanna and Lawson were awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry – Analytical Methods Prize 2010 for their research on the application of dried blood spot analysis to the improvement of paediatric medical care.
In 2012 their blood spot analysis research was nominated for the Research Project of the Year at the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Awards.
To take advantage of the simple relatively non-invasive sample collection and transport processes associated with dried blood spots, Dr Tanna and Dr Lawson have expanded their research to monitor compliance to prescribed drug therapy in patients suffering from cardiovascular disease.
This is one of the biggest killers worldwide affecting 1 in 3 adults in the UK and the current medical care of such patients is with a combination of cardiovascular drugs.
There is evidence that up to 60% of patients ignore their medication or take it incorrectly. Accurate information on patient drug uptake via a simple dried blood spot test, which could be carried out in a clinic, within a pharmacy or even at home, will aid the clinical decision making process. Initial results from a pilot study would seem to indicate a higher level of compliance but instances of taking medicines incorrectly have also been identified.
Dr Tanna and Dr Lawson’s work on the pioneering use of dried blood spot methods to monitor prescription compliance among patients taking cardiovascular medications has now been published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis.
This work has been the subject of media coverage, for example it is the cover story in the April 2013 edition of The Analytical Scientist magazine and is featured on a number of websites including: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-15002237|
Key Publications
Lawson G, Cocks E, Tanna S. Bisoprolol, ramipril and simvastatin determination in dried blood spot samples using LC-HRMS for assessing medication adherence. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis 2013; 81-82: 99-107
Tanna S, Lawson G. Spot On. The Analytical Scientist 2013; April 2013: 22-27
Lawson G, Patel P, Mulla H, Tanna S. Dried blood spot sampling with LC-MS analysis for routine therapeutic caffeine monitoring in neonates. ISRN Chromatography 2012; 2012: Article ID 828719, 7 pages, doi:10.5402/2012/828719
Lawson G, Cocks E, Tanna S. Determination of atenolol in dried blood spot samples by LC-HRMS: A potential method for assessing medication adherence. Journal of Chromatography B 2012;897: 72-79
Lawson G, Mulla H, Tanna S. Preliminary investigation of captopril in dried blood spots with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry: A potential method for neonatal pharmacokinetic studies. Journal of Bioanalysis and Biomedicine 2012; 4(2): 016-025
Tanna S, Lawson G. Analytical methods used in conjunction with dried blood spots. Analytical Methods 2011; 3(8): 1709-1718
Mulla H, Hussain N, Tanna S, Lawson G, Manktelow BN, Tuleu C, Samani NJ, Pandya H. Assessment of liquid captopril formulations used in children. Archives of Disease in Childhood 2011; 96(3): 293-296
Patel P, Tanna S, Mulla H, Kairamkonda V, Pandya H, Lawson G. Dexamethasone quantification in dried blood spot samples using LC-MS: The potential for application to neonatal pharmacokinetic studies. Journal of Chromatography B 2010; 878: 3277-3282
Patel P, Mulla H, Tanna S, Pandya H. Facilitating pharmacokinetic studies in children: A new use of dried blood spots. Archives of Disease in Childhood 2010; 95(6): 484-487
Lawson G, Mulla H, Pandya H, Tanna S. The use of dried blood spot analysis in paediatric care – from laboratory to bedside and back again. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 2009; 61: 42
Contact Us
Dr Sangeeta Tanna|
T: +44 (0)116 2078274
E: stanna@dmu.ac.uk|
Dr Graham Lawson
|T: +44 (0) 116 2577129
E: glawson@dmu.ac.uk|