Project goal

To verify the performance of quantification methods for estimating amino acids and acylcarnitines in dried blood to screen for metabolic disorders in newborn babies, immunosuppressant drugs and 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

Biggest challenges right now

• Selectively quantify newborn screening analytes (amino acids and  acylcarnitines) in a single run in a minimal amount of time.
• The need for accurate, precise and standardized measurement of immunosuppressant drugs presents a major challenge for clinical laboratories and the diagnostics industry.
• Develop a sensitive and robust method to quantify the various analytes from a complex matrix such as whole blood for immunosuppressant drugs.
• Reduce the potential for false positive results during analysis.

The Solution

• The SCIEX Triple Quad™ 4500 LC-MS/MS System for attaining  quantification limits for multiple compounds when the sample volume is small but the number of samples is large and each sample has multiple analytes—for inborn errors of metabolism, for example, the system enabled the elimination of around 50 analytes in 90 seconds.
• ChemoView™ Software for direct processing of data generated in Analyst® Software and quick screening and reporting of a large series of compounds in a high-throughput manner.
• Structured support from SCIEX application and service teams to achieve the project goal within the required time frame.

Outcomes

• The SCIEX Triple Quad 4500 System is rugged, robust and highly reproducible. It enabled development of a sensitive and precise method to screen and report metabolic disorders in newborn babies, confidently.
• The team successfully analyzed immunosuppressant drugs and Vitamin D using a sensitive, specific method capable of measuring several compounds in a single run on the SCIEX Triple Quad 4500 System.