Adaptation of methotrexate determination in serum with Unicel DxC600®

Abstract

High-dose methotrexate treatment requires pharmacological monitoring in order to tailor administration of folinic acid to reduce side effects. The aim of the study was to validate the adaptation of the EMIT reagent on the l'Unicel DxC 600® Beckman Coulter. The establishment of two assays was necessary to obtain a quantification limit as low as possible (0.05 μmol/L). The linearity of the adapted methods extends from 0.05 to 0.25 μmol/L on the one hand, and from 0.25 to 1 μmol/L on the other hand. For each method, fidelity and accuracy were studied and the limits of detection and quantification were quantified. The correlation with the FPIA method was performed on the Abbott TDX(®). The results of all tests are satisfactory with coefficients of variation (CV) of repeatability and reproducibility of less than 6%. However the daily assays are heavy as 66% of blood samples require at least two dosages and 30% a manual dilution.