Analytical quality

Example of a prescriptive approach to quality assurance. Adapted from Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Handbook for Analytical Quality Control in Water and Wastewater Laboratories," March 1979. 

Law RJ, Dobson JE. 1998. UK national marine analytical quality control scheme The assessment of performance in the determination of organochlorines in water, 1992-1996. Mar Pollut Bull 36(4) 331-343. 

References Ihnat (1995), International Atomic Energy Agency and United Nations Environment Programme (1995), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1995), Analytical Quality Control Services (1998), Quevauviller et al. (1998a), Trahey (1998), European Commission, Joint Research Centre, IRMM (1999). 

Analytical Quality Control Services (1998) AQCS Intercomparison Runs Reference Materials 1998-1999. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna. 

Ihnat M (1994) Development of a new series of agricultural/food reference materials for analytical quality control of elemental determinations. J AOAC Inti 77 1605-1627. 

Fraser has extensively discussed this relationship between laboratory work and clinical needs (Fraser and Hyltoft Peterson 1993) and has recently addressed the role of documented analytical quality as derived from measurements of RMs (Fraser and Hyltoft Peterson 1999). Among the concepts proposed by Fraser and his colleagues, it is suggested that analytical imprecision should be <0.50 CVi and bias should be <0.25 (CVi + where CVj is the within-subject biological variation (i.e. changes from day to... 

LtiCKER E, Konig H, Gabriel G, Rosopulo A (1992) Analytical quality control by solid sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry in the production of animal tissue reference materials. Fresenius J Anal Chem 342 941-949. 

A second reason for using reference materials in clinical chemistry is to ensure values obtained are traceable to those in a recognized, authoritative reference material (Johnson et al. 1996). As a result, the assignment of values of secondary and tertiary reference materials, calibrants, controls, and proficiency samples shordd be performed as precisely as possible (Johnson et al. 1996). Surprisingly there is still debate on this topic, and on the need for clinical chemistry to incorporate the principals of analytical quality assurance (Dybkaer et al. 1999). 

Despite all that has been written about the requirements of carefully performed analytical quality control including the usage of CRMs, there are still many laboratories that either have neither proper internal QC nor CRMs, or perhaps do not want to admit to using them ... 

Mesliy RJ et al. 1991) Analytical Quality Assurance - A Review. Analyst 116 975-990. 

Within Europe there are thousands of organizations concerned with analytical measurement. However, within the broad field of testing, chemical measurement has generally been poorly represented. EURACHEM was established to address this concern by enabling analytical laboratories to work together, across international boundaries, on analytical measurement issues. EURACHEM s uniqueness as an organization comes from its primary concern, which is the analytical quality of chemical measurement. 

Proceedings of the BEM and BERM symposia have been used to assess emerging trends in the development of RMs to meet Analytical Quality Control requirements for clinical, food, nutrition, and environmental health areas. (Iyengar and Wolf 1998) ... 

Parr RM, Fajgelj A, Dekner R, Vera Ruiz H, Carvalho FP, and Povinec PP (1998) IAEA analytical quality assurance programs to meet the present and future needs of developing countries. Fresenius J Anal Chem 360 287-290. 

Standards are being used in the context of Analytical Quality Assurance, which is the demonstration to the end-user that the delivered product, the measurement data, are reliable and have been made according to the best practices currently possible. Standards facilitate, some would say are essential to, living and trading in the global village. Standards have become standard in everyday life. 

Other considerations could include availability of reagent(s) or equipment, method for routine analyses vs limited samples, and confirmatory method vs multi-residues. Plan for method validation and/or analytical quality control. 

Ensure that the analytical methodology gives reliable results in terms of identity (absence of false-positive findings) and of absence (no false-negative findings) of the analyte(s). This requires processing of concurrent analytical quality control samples. 

A Protocol for Analytical Quality Assurance in Public Analyst s Laboratories, Association of Public Analysts, Sheffield (1986). 

Residue study protocols typically either include quality specifications for analytical procedures or refer to a written analytical method that includes such specifications. The protocol for an LSMBS should also include analytical quality specifications, either directly or by reference to a method. Analytical specifications usually include minimum and maximum recovery of analyte from fortified control samples, minimum number of such fortifications per set of samples, minimum linearity in calibration, minimum stability of response to injection of calibration solutions, and limits of quantitation and of detection. 

Similar considerations were taken into account throughout the process of designing the study and committing the design to a protocol. In addition to analytical quality specifications, decisions were made regarding definitions of limits of detection and quantitation, levels of apparent residues at which confirmation was required, and how such confirmation would be achieved. All of these decisions were based on fulfilling the objectives of the study while operating within unavoidable time and resource constraints. 

In the OPMBS, the lead laboratory developed the analytical method for all analytes in ah commodities. The same laboratory validated the method for each commodity, to demonstrate that all the specific analytes for the commodity could be determined in accordance with analytical quality specifications. The method was then provided to the other three laboratories, each of which validated the method for its assigned commodities, to ensure that the method performed properly using the laboratory s equipment and personnel. 

Rodriguez LC, Garcia RB, Garcia Campana AM, Bosque Sendra JM (1998) A new approach to a complete robustness test of experimental nominal conditions of chemical testing procedures for internal analytical quality assessment. Chemom Intell Lab Syst 41 57... 

Danzer K (1993) Information content of an analytical result and its assessment by interlaboratory studies. IDF Special Issue 9302 Analytical quality assurance and good laboratory practice in dairy laboratories. IDF, Brussels... 

Gardner MJ (1987) UK Analytical Quality Control for Trace Metals in the Coastal and Marine Environment, the Determination of Cadmium. Report PRS 1516-M, Water Res Centre, Medmenham, UK... 

Kawahara FE (1969) Laboratory guide for the identification of petroleum products. Department of the Interior Federal Water Pollution Central Administration, Analytical Quality Central Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, USA... 

US Environmental Protection Agency Analytical Quality Control Laboratory, US Government Printing Office, Washington DC (1972)... 

Cheeseman, R. V. and Wilson, A. L. (revised by Gardner, M. J.), NS30, A Manual on Analytical Quality Control for the Water Industry, ISBN 0902156-853, Water Research Centre pic, Marlow, UK, 1989. 

It is always recommended that OQ is carried out after a service visit. Evidence of continued satisfactory performance during use (PQ) should be obtained from everyday method-related checks (e.g. system suitability testing, calibration and analytical quality control). It is advisable to set up thresholds outside of which the performance of an instrument is no longer acceptable. Each stage of the equipment qualification needs to be fully documented so that the evidence of performance at any given time can be checked. 

Chemical laboratories - Quality control. 2. Chemistry, Analytic - Quality control. 3. Chemistry, Analytic - Technique. I. Barwick, Vicki. II. Title. 

Burettes, pipettes, volumetric flasks, analytical quality chemical balance, indicator electrodes and coulometric generating electrodes. 

The Food Standards Agency undertakes food chemical surveillance exercises. It has developed information for potential contractors on the analytical quality assurance requirements for food chemical surveillance exercises. These requirements are describe below but reproduced as an appendix to this chapter, they emphasise the need for a laboratory to produce and report data of appropriate quality. The requirements are divided into three parts dealing with ... 

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