Quality control protocol precision

Boomer and Powell [242] have developed an analytical technique using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to estimate the concentration of uranium in a variety of environmental samples including soil. The lower limit for quantitation is 0.1 ng/ml. Calibration is linear from the low limit to 100 ng/ml. Precision, accuracy and a quality control protocol were established. Results are compared with those obtained by the conventional fluorometric method. 

Most users of a modern capillary column regard it as a sophisticated high-precision device and purchase columns from a vendor. Few give any thought to the steps involved in column preparation. Their highest priority is understandably the end result of accurate and reproducible chromatographic data that the column can provide for quality assurance/quality control protocols. In this section, deactivation and coating of a fused-silica column with stationary phase are discussed. 

The establishment of performance criteria for a given tumor marker test is not a simple process because accuracy and precision are unique for each type of analyte and its application. Establishing methodological limits for accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and specificity often requires standard reference materials, quality control materials, comparative studies, and actual clinical specimens. Accuracy and precision must be measured over the analyte reportable range for which the device is intended to be used. Sensitivity and specificity must be considered with respect to the intended clinical use of the device. Also, the indications for use should be carefully considered in the design of the study protocol. The indications for class II should be to monitor residual tumor after surgery (or radiation), the recurrence of tumor, or response to therapy. A 510(k) must provide clear evidence that the device is accurate, safe, effective, and substantially equivalent to a device legally marketed in the United States. 

Method performance study All laboratories follow the same written protocol and use the same test method to measure a quantity (usually concentration of an analyte) in sets of identical test samples. The results are used to estimate the performance characteristics of the method, which are usually within-laboratory- and between-laboratory precision and - if relevant - additional parameters such as sensitivity, limit of detection, recovery, and internal quality control parameters (IUPAC Orange Book [1997, 2000]). 

As an analytical approach to residue analysis, immunoassay methods are not well characterized, and no validation protocols have been established. The Association of Official Analytical Chemists, whose primary purpose is validation of analytical methods, established a Task Force on Test Kits and Proprietary Methods (2), which has addressed some of the issues relating to immunoassay methods. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry s Commission on Food Chemistry has established a Working Group on Immunochemical Methods, whose first project is to develop draft guidelines on criteria for evaluation, validation, and quality control for r o-immunoassay methods (10). Similar guidelines for EIAs will also be developed. These documents will assist in development and standardization of requirements for precision for both between-laboratories and within-laboratory andyses, accuracy, and ruggedness, and— for qualitative methods— false positive and false negative rates. 

Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) requires that a quality control (QQ protocol for trace environmental analysis be put in place. A good laboratory QC protocol for any laboratory attempting to achieve precise and aeeurate TEQA requires the following eonsiderations ... 

The ability to provide accurate and reliable data is central to the role of analytical chemists, not only in areas like the development and manufacture of drugs, food control or drinking water analysis, but also in the field of environmental chemistry, where there is an increasing need for certified laboratories (ISO 9000 standards). The quality of analytical data is a key factor in successfully identifying and monitoring contamination of environmental compartments. In this context, a large collection of methods applied to the routine analysis of prime environmental pollutants has been developed and validated, and adapted in nationally or internationally harmonised protocols (DIN, EPA). Information on method performance generally provides data on specificity, accuracy, precision (repeatability and reproducibility), limit of detection, sensitivity, applicability and practicability, as appropriate. 

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