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State-of-the-art technologies such as LC–MS/MS require sample clean-up or preparation to remove interferences from its matrices before analysis. Traditional techniques become insufficient to remove interfering constituents such as proteins and phospholipids in plasma. Protein precipitation (PPT) using organic solvents such as acetonitrile (ACN), liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) and solid phase extraction (SPE) are commonly used techniques to prepare plasma samples.  Still LLE and PPT are indispensable techniques to remove proteins, even though they are ‘inadequate’ to separate phospholipids.

Researchers at Bonna-Agela have taken great effort on multifunction adsorption (MAS) material and porous diatomite substrate for their applications in preparing plasma samples. In a developed MAS material, an additional or hybrid mechanism is introduced by overlaying a SPE substrate. It preserves the PPT mechanism in addition of other binding modes involved. Phospholipids are retained in the MAS material through the interaction of the phosphate moiety with a metal ligand. Application using the material to clean-up phospholipids is similar to a SPE procedure, but PPT is implemented in the first step. Typically, ACN is used to elute plasma sample where protein will precipitate first and retain on the head of a MAS cartridge, and phospholipids will be adsorbed when passing the sample through the material.