A low drug concentration can reflect the sample’s history after collection. Charlier and colleagues tested how storage conditions affected cenobamate measurements while validating a human plasma assay.
The team used UHPLC–MS/MS and assessed fortified plasma at several storage temperatures. Their results supported stability in plasma kept at −20 °C or −80 °C through the period they studied. The paper reported degradation above 15% in unfrozen samples stored longer than 48 hours under tested conditions. The researchers evaluated processed extracts separately from the original plasma.
Separate the time between collection and plasma separation from the time in storage and the time after extraction. Compare the recorded conditions with the analyzing laboratory’s validation for the matrix and method used. The published experiment shows that handling can affect recovery. If a particular specimen’s handling is unknown, the paper does not provide a correction factor for its reported concentration.
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