GE Healthcare has brought out FTA DMPK cards for collecting and storing blood samples for use in pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic (PK/TK) studies.
This methodology stores the samples as dried blood spots (DBS) and has a broad applicability across the entire drug discovery and development process, from research through to preclinical and clinical trials.
The lower required blood volumes of 10 to 20ul, compared with traditional approaches - which need up to 500ul - support serial sampling, leading to enhanced data consistency and a reduction in the number of animals required per study.
FTA DMPK cards deliver an ethical and economic benefit with reduced workflow time, as the procedure for blood-sample processing is greatly simplified.
For all card types, the resultant DBS samples can be stored and shipped at room temperature while FTA DMPK-A and FTA DMPK-B cards also inactivate viruses and prevent bacterial contamination.
Therefore, handling and shipping of samples is safer and more straightforward.
For analysis, a manual or automatic punch takes sample discs from the cards; from the punch, the compounds of interest are extracted and analysed.
FTA DMPK cards are now routinely used by pharmaceutical and contract-research organisations.
