Dried Blood Spots (DBS)

Dried blood has been used as a sample material for in vitro diagnostic analysis since the mid-1960s, especially in newborn screening and, over the past decades, has become a standard in this field. Moreover, dried blood is applied in drug screenings, doping controls and in therapeutic drug monitoring. It is also more and more used in antibody and antigen diagnostics. Dried capillary blood samples are an excellent alternative to venous blood samples and can be tested in the lab, e.g. for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.

• Simple handling: capillary blood collection by finger prick, application to a blood collection card, air drying capillary blood is collection by a prick in the finger, dropped onto a blood collection card and air-dried.
• Minimally invasive method: straightforward alternative to venous blood sampling
• Reduction / elimination of biological risks: According to the guidelines of the US Department of Transportation (DOT), the International Air Transporter Association (IATA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), dried blood samples are considered exempt medical samples that can be safely sent by mail.
• Shipping is possible without any additional cooling:high stability demonstrated for a large number of analytes
• Quantification: Punches with a defined diameter allow exact determination of the collected blood volume.
• Complete automation of all process steps possible
• Application of DBS samples validated: in combination with the ELISAs for the detection of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and measles virus (further parameters in preparation)