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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
Dried Blood Spots - Preparing and Processing for Use in Immunoassays and in Molecular Techniques
Published on: March 13, 2015
The preparation and storage of dried-blood spot quality control materials for lysosomal storage disease screening
B W Adam1, J J Orsini, M Martin
1Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. BAdam@cdc.gov
Objective:
We aimed to prepare dried-blood spot (DBS) quality control (QC) materials for lysosomal storage disease (LSD) screening tests and to determine optimum blood and DBS storage conditions.
Methods:
We compared enzyme activities of five LSD markers in adult blood, umbilical-cord blood, and leukocyte-reduced blood. We measured activities in liquid blood and DBSs after predetermined intervals at controlled temperatures and humidities.
Results:
Lysosomal-enzyme activity levels in umbilical-cord blood mimicked those in newborn screening samples. Lysosomal-enzyme activities in leukocyte-reduced blood were lower than in LSD-positive patient samples. Enzyme activities were stable in refrigerated liquid blood for 32 days and in frozen DBSs stored at low humidity for a year. Activity losses from DBSs after 34 days at 37±1°C were 35%-66% in low humidity and 61%-100% in high humidity.
Conclusions:
Umbilical-cord blood is the preferred matrix for LSD-normal DBS QC materials. Leukocyte-reduced blood is lysosomal enzyme-deficient. Failure to control humidity during DBS storage results in loss of lysosomal-enzyme activities.
