Instrumental and Technical Evolution Over the Past Decade in Bioanalysis

Abstract

In the domain of LC-MS, it has been an exciting and memorable 10 years of progress in quantitative bioanalytical techniques since the inception of Bioanalysis. Several innovative technologies have seen commercial manifestations, of wonderful value to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. As such, we have seen drive and success in improving sensitivity of detection, a perennial pursuit. We have seen the creation of more avenues to obtain selectivity, the most pivotal property of a truly robust quantitative methodology. We have also significantly brought forward and established new ways to reliably use notably less matrix in fully quantitative applications. In this article, I have detailed my pick of the most compelling developments in the past decade. Matrix quantity basis reduction with innovationOn the note of reduction of analytical matrix volumes, the launch of this journal occurred just as a formidable wave of interest was gaining strength in dried blood spotting (DBS). There was a pronounced focus on a quantitative LC-MS end point as shown in the first of such reports [1,2] and for which there have been some informative and insightful reviews over the years [3,4]. The technique of DBS, an example of microsampling, involves minimally invasive drawings typically in the order of 10 μl, resulting in several practical and analytical advantages. The dramatic reduction in the blood volume required for a given toxicokinetic time point gives a concomitant reduction in animal number requirements, particularly important for the likes of rodents. Indeed, full toxicokinetic (TK) profiles can be acquired from a single animal, bestowing far greater confidence in concentration data and the derived statistical data and associated decisions from such. The card-based sample collection also has profound cost-saving implications, from the perspective of ease of storage and transport [5]. In addition, there are much reduced analyte stability concerns in the dried sample [6,7]. Supporting the reliability of the technique, there are reports of concentration data obtained from DBS correlating well with those data obtained from analysis of liquid samples [8]. As it stands, DBS has cemented itself as an option in the regulated laboratory, despite reliability-related question marks over aspects such as the impact of differing hematocrit [9] and uncertainty over best means of internal standard addition [10]. In any case, DBS has not just preclinical [11] but naturally also clinical application [2,12], the amount of blood required being no more than that obtained from a finger prick, and in this manner there are positive implications for the likes of pediatric studies.In the same microsampling vein, the acquisition and storage of liquid samples in this order of volume also gained great prominence on the heels of DBS, and with the same 3R (reduction, replacement and refinement) benefits for research involving animals. Liquid microsampling has overwhelmingly involved capillaries of 1-25 μl in the drawing and storage of blood samples [...

Welcome to the 10th Anniversary Issue of Bioanalysis

“…As a direct follow-up to his article published in the very first issue of Bioanalysis, Briscoe reflects on the last 10 years of assessing stability in bioanalysis [12]. MacNeil explores instrumental and technical evolution over the past decade in bioanalysis in his commentary article [13], while van de Merbel explores specifically through the pages of Bioanalysis, to provide a picture of the progress in protein quantification by LC-MS [14].…”