An LC/MS/MS method for quantifying 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in finger-prick plasma sample prepared by DEMECAL® micro plasma separation device: toward mail-in assessment of vitamin D status

• Published in: Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry Vol. 417; no. 17; pp. 3765 - 3775
• Main Authors: Maeda, Kodai, Sakamoto, Kyoka, Ito, Eiko, Sugimoto, Shinya, Tajima, Shingo, Sasahara, Takahisa, Kawamura, Shunji, Yaegashi, Kazuo, Higashi, Tatsuya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.07.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D; Analytical Chemistry; Biochemistry; Blood; Blood plasma; Bone diseases; Calciferol; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Ethanol; Food Science; Heterogeneity; Ionization; Laboratory Medicine; Liquid chromatography; Mail; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Medical personnel; Metabolism; Metabolites; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Paper in Forefront; Plasma; Quantitative analysis; Room temperature; Sample preparation; Vitamin D; Vitamin deficiency; United States > US; Japan; Vitamin D status; Finger-prick blood; Micro plasma separation; Derivatization; LC/ESI–MS/MS
• ISSN: 1618-2642; 1618-2650; 1618-2650
• DOI: 10.1007/s00216-025-05939-4

A mail-in assessment of vitamin D status will make it possible for the subjects to early detect any vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency at their homes, thus leading to a better management of their health. In this study, a liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI–MS/MS) method was developed and validated for quantifying 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 [25(OH)D 3 ], which is the established marker of the vitamin D status, in the finger-prick blood plasma sample prepared by the DEMECAL ® device. By using the DEMECAL ® device, the subjects can collect their finger-prick blood at their homes and immediately separate the plasma from the blood by themselves. The DEMECAL ® -based procedure had advantages over the venipuncture- and dried blood spot-based procedures because it is less invasive and a medical professional-free blood collection, and no need to be concerned with the heterogeneity of the analyte distribution in the sample. The developed LC/ESI–MS/MS method enabled the precise and accurate quantification of 25(OH)D 3 and provided the lower limit of quantification of 0.10 ng/mL in the diluted plasma sample due to the derivatization with 4-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione. 25(OH)D 3 was stable in the plasma sample prepared by the DEMECAL ® device at room temperature (23–27 °C) for 7 days (simulated condition in the mail) and at 4 °C for 30 days (simulated condition during storage at a laboratory). The measured 25(OH)D 3 concentrations by the DEMECAL ® -based procedure well agreed with those by the conventional venipuncture-based procedure. These results demonstrated that the derivatization-LC/ESI–MS/MS combined with the DEMECAL ® -based sample preparation is a promising procedure for the mail-in assessment of the vitamin D status. Graphical Abstract