Quantitative analysis of acetylsalicylic acid in human blood using volumetric absorptive microsampling

Volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) is a novel sampling technique that allows for the collection of an accurate volume of blood by dipping a microsampler tip. The purpose of this study is to compare the requirement of a stabilizing reagent for the conventional venous blood sampling method versus VAMS in the analytical measurement of the concentration of acetylsalicylic acid. A high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the accurate determination of acetylsalicylic acid in human blood. The blood samples spiked with acetylsalicylic acid with and without stabilizing reagent were absorbed into VAMS tips. In the whole blood sample, the same concentration was shown regardless of the addition of the stabilizing reagent, but the concentration decreased when the stabilizing reagent was not added to the VAMS sample. To apply the VAMS technology as a new blood sampling method, stabilizing reagents should be added before the analysis of acetylsalicylic acid concentration.