Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 16, 2026

High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 23, 2019
Determination of dabigatran in plasma, serum, and urine samples: comparison of six methods
Background:
Assessing the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran may be useful in certain clinical settings. When plasma sampling is not available, serum or urine samples may provide another option for dabigatran determinations.
Methods:
Dabigatran was assessed in patients on treatment under real-life conditions in plasma samples by four clotting time-based assays and in plasma, serum, and urine samples by two chromogenic substrate methods.
Results:
The concentrations of dabigatran in patients' plasma samples were not different for the Hemoclot test (106.8±89.4 ng/mL) and the ecarin clotting time (ECT, 109.5±74.5 ng/mL, p=0.58). Activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombinase-induced clotting time showed low correlations with the other assays. Chromogenic assays measured similar concentrations as Hemoclot and ECT. For both chromogenic assays, the concentrations of dabigatran were about 70% lower in serum than in plasma samples (p<0.0001). The intra-class coefficient (ICC, Bland-Altman analysis) was strong comparing ECT, Hemoclot thrombin inhibitor (HTI) assay, and the two chromogenic assays (r=0.889-0.737). The ICC was low for comparisons of the chromogenic assays of serum vs. plasma values (ICC, 0.15 and 0.66). The ICC for the determination of dabigatran in urine samples by the two chromogenic assays (5641.6±4319.7 and 4730.0±3770.2 ng/mL) was 0.737.
Conclusions:
ECT, HTI, and chromogenic assays can be used to determine dabigatran in plasma samples from patients under real-life conditions. Chromogenic assays require further improvement to reliably measure dabigatran in serum samples. Dabigatran concentrations in urine samples can also be determined quantitatively.
More Related Videos
09:41Hemocompatibility Testing of Blood-Contacting Implants in a Flow Loop Model Mimicking Human Blood Flow
Published on: March 5, 2020
08:41Integration of Miniaturized Solid Phase Extraction and LC-MS/MS Detection of 3-Nitrotyrosine in Human Urine for Clinical Applications
Published on: July 14, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Drug Analysis Methods
Protein-Drug Binding: Determination Methods
Indirect methods involve isolating the bound drug from its free form in biological samples such as blood, serum, or plasma. These techniques aim to measure the percentage of drugs bound to proteins. Equilibrium dialysis is a commonly used method where the free drug concentration at equilibrium is measured by separating the bound...
Measurement of Bioavailability: Pharmacokinetic Methods
Drug Concentrations: Measurements
Plasma...
Determination of Renal Drug Clearance: Graphical and Midpoint Methods
The graphical method involves plotting the rate of drug excretion in urine against the plasma drug concentration. By analyzing the graph, the clearance can be calculated and obtained. Drugs rapidly excreted by the kidneys exhibit a...
Determination of Multiple Dosing Parameters: Steady-State, Minimum and Maximum Concentrations