Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is an especially key area in modern laboratory medicine, ensuring the safety and well-being of the population. TDM ensures that concentrations of therapeutic drug doses are within specified ranges within a patient’s body. This involves measuring relevant drug levels at specific intervals to ensure optimal efficacy and avoid potential toxicity. On the other hand, Toxicology drug test is a laboratory test to detect and/or quantitate the presence of drugs or their metabolites in a patient’s biological sample such as blood, urine, saliva, and hair. This test can be done to detect potential overdosing of therapeutic/prescription drugs or exposure to illicit drugs. Although these two areas have distinct focuses of therapeutic dose optimization vs drug toxicity assessment, when these two fields intertwine, it provides a robust basis for patient care and clinical decision making.
Common TDM drug classes are: immunosuppressants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and anticonvulsants.
Common illicit drug types detected by toxicology tests are Opioids, Amphetamines, Barbiturates, Cocaine, and its metabolites, etc.
Drug testing for toxicology and TDM have the same pharmacological principles and involve similar sample matrices, instrumentation, and techniques. Many of the tests in either workflow look for the same substances, but the reasons for the testing are different.
Phenomenex has many applications and technical notes for support of TDM and Toxicology methods. From simple dilute and shoot or sample preparation in different matrices with step-by-step instructions, to insights into chromatography column choice and troubleshooting steps.
We have recently worked on chromatography and sample preparation technical notes for three drugs classes: Anticonvulsants, Antidepressants, Antipsychotics, and a White Paper that consolidates and summarizes this work. See the end of this blog for all our resources.
At Phenomenex, we realize the importance of making this information available to our customers to support their method development efforts so they can create efficient, cost-effective, sustainable methods and tests. We have created a dedicated Drug Analysis Tab that houses our highest quality and newest information like technical literature, webinars and guides for chromatography and sample preparation for TDM and drugs testing methods. Chat with our Support Team for any questions or if you need help with your method development!
More Technical Resources:
- Column Considerations for LC-MS/MS Analysis of a Panel of 22 Antidepressants
- Column Selection for LC-MS/MS Analysis of a 14 Analyte Antipsychotic Panel
- Comparing Kinetex™ Biphenyl and Luna™ Omega Polar C18 Columns for Analysis of an 11 Analyte Anticonvulsant Panel
- Fast, Easy Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) Optimization for Prescribed Drugs Utilizing the Strata™-X Method Development Plate