Novel blood and urine microsampling strategies for the monitoring of alcohol consumption marlers

OB5. NOVEL BLOOD AND URINE MICROSAMPLING STRATEGIES FOR THE MONITORING OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION MARKERS Laura MERCOLINI1, Michele PROTTI1, Maria C. CATAPANO1, Stefano GIROTTI1, Anna BARBIERI2, Laura SABATINI2, Vittorio BOIDO2, Vittorio LODI2, Francesco S. VIOLANTE2 1 Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy 2 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, Via P. Palagi 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate (EtS) are direct alcohol consumption markers, detectable in blood and urine even after consumption of trace amounts of ethanol. The detection window of these biomarkers is dose- and individual-dependent and ranges between 1 and 3 days after alcohol uptake, covering the time gap between short-term (e.g. ethanol) and long-term alcohol markers. Simultaneous determination of EtG and EtS could be, therefore, a suitable strategy for detection of recent alcohol consumption, with applicability in alcohol abstinence programs, workplace alcohol testing or as proof of alcohol uptake by court. However, the risk of bacteria presence in urine, that might hydrolyze or synthesize EtG and EtS and cause false identification of alcohol consumption, detracts from method reliability [1]. On the other hand, classic blood withdrawal via phlebotomy suffers from a number of inherent drawbacks: invasive sampling, conservation and transport requirements under controlled temperatures, the need to handle the samples immediately after collection (plasma separation) make this approach unappealing for application to large cohorts of subjects. The purpose of this study is the development of a new strategy for biosampling based on the use of dried matrix micro volumes: dried blood spots (DBS) and dried urine spots (DUS), followed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The application of these original methods for the determination of alcohol consumption markers will lead to standardized sampling, pretreatment and analysis protocols for a simple, reliable and high-throughput application for workplace alcohol testing. [1] A.H. Redondo, C. Körber, S. König, A. Längin, A. Al-Ahmad, W. Weinmann, Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 402, 2417-2424 (2012).