The stability of markers in dried-blood spots for recommended newborn screening disorders in the United States.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to measure separately the contributions of heat and humidity to changes in levels of 34 markers of inborn disorders in dried-blood-spot (DBS) samples. DESIGN AND METHODS: We stored paired sets of DBSs at 37°C for predetermined intervals in low-humidity and high-humidity environments. Marker levels of all samples in each complete sample set were measured in a single analytic run. RESULTS: During the 30 ± 5 day studies, galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase and biotinidase lost almost 65% of initial activities in low-humidity storage; most of the degradation in 27 other markers was attributable to adverse effects of high-humidity storage; seven markers in DBSs stored at high humidity lost more than 90% of initial levels by the end of the study and 4 of the 7 lost more than 50% of initial levels within the first week of storage. CONCLUSIONS: Minimizing both humidity and temperature in DBS transportation and storage environments is essential to maintaining sample integrity.