Sample containers and labelling

The sample container must be clean, dry and airtight. Its function is not only to protect the sample from contamination by extraneous matter such as atmospheric moisture and carbon dioxide or airborne particulate materials, but also to prevent changes in composition through loss of volatile components, and the escape of toxic or flammable vapours. It should be filled as full as possible, leaving minimal head-space, and the closure must be put on securely. 

It is very good practice, and one which should be mandatory in all laboratories, to label the container correctly before the sample is put into it. The label should carry the full name of the contents (not a set of initials) and sufficient additional information to identify the sample uniquely. This may be a batch number, an experiment number, a date, or anything else unique to that individual sample, i.e. information which distinguishes it from all other samples, past, present or future, of the same material. Any analyst receiving a sample not so identified is fully justified in throwing it away without further inquiry, and if he does so there will be no second offenders. Replicate samples should be called A, B, C, etc., to distinguish them from one another. 

Correct labelling is a serious matter. There are cases on record of all kinds of dire consequences of incorrect or inadequate labelling, including one instance of multiple deaths [4]. 

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Representative samples of each shipment must be collected for testing as required by 211.84. (b). The number of containers to be sampled depends on the (i) component variability, (ii) confidence level, (iii) degree of precision desired, (iv) past quality history of the supplier, and (v) quantity needed for analysis and reserve samples. For hazardous or highly toxic raw materials, where on-site testing may be impractical, suppliers COA should be obtained, showing that the raw materials conform to specifications. In addition, the identity of these raw materials should be confirmed by examination of containers and labels. The lack of on-site testing for hazardous raw materials should be documented. 

There should be written standard operating procedures (SOP) in place before sampling. Before sampling, the operator should have all the equipment, containers, and labels needed for sampling this information should be included in the SOP. All labels should be applied at the time of sampling. 

Field Samples. Each field sample is packed in an appropriate container and labeled. In addition to the harvest information listed above, information on the history of the sample (storage conditions and intervals) near the field location and on shipment to the laboratory is generated. 

Also, the analysis from blood enables a conclusion to be drawn concerning the concentration of an analyte and the possible effect on the concentration of the time at which the blood sample is taken. The correct labeling of both the sample container and the package that contains it and provision of the necessary documentation for the laboratory ensure that the sample will be processed without delay. 

The spectra of tritium and of carbon-14 were obtained wit) unquenched standard samples containing toluene labelled with or with in a PPO-POPOP-toluene cocktail. For inducing chemiluminescence reactions we mixed 10 ml of scintillator solution according to Butler (1961) with 0.5 ml of a saturated benzoyl peroxide solution in toluene and with 0.5 ml Hyamine 10-X. 

Procedure—Immediately after fuel has been delivered from the pump and the pump has been reset, attach a spacer (Fig. 7), if ne ed, to the pump nozzle (vapor recovery type). Insert nozzle extension (Rg. 8) into the previously chilled sample container and insert the pump nozzle into the extension with slot over the air bleed hole. Fill the sample container slowly through the nozzle extension to 70 to 85 % ftiU (Fig. 9). Remove the nozzle extension. Insert the seal and cap or stopper into the sample container at once. Check for leaks. If a leak occurs, discard the sample container and resample. If the sample container is leak tight, label the container and deliver it to the laboratory. 

Quantitative mass spectrometry, also used for pharmaceutical appHcations, involves the use of isotopicaHy labeled internal standards for method calibration and the calculation of percent recoveries (9). Maximum sensitivity is obtained when the mass spectrometer is set to monitor only a few ions, which are characteristic of the target compounds to be quantified, a procedure known as the selected ion monitoring mode (sim). When chlorinated species are to be detected, then two ions from the isotopic envelope can be monitored, and confirmation of the target compound can be based not only on the gc retention time and the mass, but on the ratio of the two ion abundances being close to the theoretically expected value. The spectrometer cycles through the ions in the shortest possible time. This avoids compromising the chromatographic resolution of the gc, because even after extraction the sample contains many compounds in addition to the analyte. To increase sensitivity, some methods use sample concentration techniques. 

The sampling kit consists of the labelled urea, which is a drug a sampling straw, which is a device and a sample container, which would be considered an in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical device under EU definitions. Other examples of diagnostic drug products used in conjunction with medical devices include dyes administered to visualise blocked veins and arteries. 

The uptake of TRA into cervical tissue was determined by measuring tissue radioactivity following insertion of the collagen sponge cervical cap containing tritium-labeled TRA. The TRA concentrations peaked at 4 hr and then diminished rapidly by 24 hr. Since measurements of blood samples revealed that no systemic absorption had occurred, high local concentrations over an extended period of time may be possible without systemic side effects. 

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