Viability of Capillary Blood Collection for Use in Population-Based Health Research

James J Snodgrass, University of Oregon

The measurement of biomarkers in population-based research is often limited by the requirement for relatively large sample volumes (typically obtained by venipuncture), and difficulties related to storage and transport of plasma, serum, or whole blood samples collected in non-clinical settings. The development of Luminex multi-analyte profiling (xMAP) technology helps overcome these obstacles by allowing for the simultaneous measurement of multiple analytes from a small volume of sample. In the present study, we assess the feasibility of collecting finger stick whole blood in capillary tubes for the simultaneous quantification of plasma adipokines (leptin and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) and insulin using a commercially available microsphere-based immunoassay kit. Our four main objectives are: 1) to examine analyte stability at different temperatures; 2) to compare analyte concentrations in centrifuged and uncentrifuged samples; 3) to quantify plasma recovery volume; and 4) to assess the time needed to collect samples. Support: National Institute on Aging (P01 AG18911).