antiepileptic drug monitoring and small molecule bioanalysis

We have witnessed a growing interest in the use of Mitra® microsampling devices with VAMS^® technology in the areas of small molecule bioanalysis and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), particularly with regard to antiepileptics. Research has been conducted by esteemed scientists such as Drs. Christophe Stove and Ugo de Grazia, and by well-known entities such as York Bioanalytical and Altasciences. Four new methods from all are now available for all those inclined to follow their lead.

Microsampling has increasingly proven itself an effective alternative to older blood collection methods such as venipuncture. It streamlines the blood collection process and changes the game with regard to transport. It's driving innovation in important new areas such as patient-centered medicine and precision medicine, through the proliferation of remote sampling. In keeping with wider trends sweeping science, research, and healthtech, better-quality data is now being generated from smaller samples than ever before.

In drug monitoring, microsampling applications have warranted special attention. Therapeutic drugs such as antiepileptics often have narrow therapeutic ranges. By conducting remote patient sampling procedures and having the appropriate concentration of the drug in question on hand during subsequent consultations, physicians can optimize and individualize their clinical health decisions. With remote sampling, clinicians also have access to a broader range of potential sampling time points, and patients are given a greater sense of agency in their treatment.

The benefits to the healthcare field, and to society at large, are increasingly obvious. And the facts are in. It works.

From 2017 into 2018, four unrelated research groups, working separately from each other, developed and validated methods for the determination of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) using Mitra microsampling devices from Neoteryx. We are now proud to make those results free available to all comers.

You'll find concise summaries of the relevant methods, along with notes on important workflow elements to consider when the time comes to do groundbreaking work of this sort on your own.

When it's time for you and your team to develop and validate a bioanalytical method for specimens to collected with Mitra microsampling devices - or if you have ideas and questions of your own - let us know. We'll put you in touch with a Microsampling Specialist to get you started and make sure you have all the support you need for the hard work of changing the landscape of healthcare.