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Abstract

Bioanalysis is a sub-discipline of analytical chemistry covering the quantitative measurement of xenobiotics (drugs and their metabolites and biological molecules in unnatural locations or concentration) and biotics (macromolecules, proteins, DNA, large molecule drugs, metabolites) in biological system. The focus of bioanalysis in the pharmaceutical industry is to provide as quantitative measure of the active drug and/or its metabolite(s) for the purpose of pharmacokinetics, toxicokinetics, bioequivalence and exposure response (pharmacokinetics / pharmacodynamics studies). Over the past several years dried matrix spot (DMS) sampling technique has emerged as a pertinent method in both qualitative and quantitative bioanalysis context. There are many types of DMS techniques such as dried blood spot (DBS), dried plasma spot (DPS), dried urine spot (DUS) and dried breast milk spot (DBMS). The most commonly used technique is DBS wherein the blood sample is directly soaked on to a paper (with or without treatment) and after drying it can be analyzed by modern analytical, immunological or genomic detection systems. Several advantages of DMS techniques such as low sample requirement, transportation and storage without special treatment, better analytes stability, enhanced clinical cooperation in clinical trials and reduced unforeseeable exposure of biohazard to analysts, make it the most appropriate sampling technique for bioanalysis. This review illustrates the available information on DBS, DPS, DUS and DBMS methods which may serve for investigators in the field of bioanalysis. Further, the proficiency and appliance of DMS method in pharmacokinetic (PK), therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), toxicokinetic (TK), metabolomic and disease diagnosis is explored.