Mass Spectrometry for the Clinical Laboratory

Mass Spectrometry for the Clinical Laboratory is an accessible guide to mass spectrometry and the evaluation, validation, and trouble-shooting of the most common assays seen in clinical pathology labs. It offers readers a complete set of tools for the design of assay protocol, validation of experimental designs to meet CLIA requirements, appropriate interference testing, measuring, validation of ion suppression/matrix effects, and quality control. . The book provides appropriate statistical tools for validation, as well as guidance on what type of instrumentation is optimal for each assay, what options are available, and the pros and cons of each. Readers will find a full set of tools that are either directly related to the assay they want to adopt or for an analogous assay they could use as an example. . Chapters have been written by expert users of the most common assays found in a clinical pathology laboratory (clinical chemists, toxicologists, and MD clinical pathologists practicing mass spectrometry). Introductory chapters lay out how experts in the field have chosen their mass spectrometers, purchased, installed, validated, and brought them on line for routine testing. . The first half of the book covers what the practitioners have learned from a year or more of testing, the challenges they have faced, and their recommendations on how to build and validate assays to avoid problems. Chapters in this section also include protocols for troubleshooting and for maintaining continuity in testing. The second half of the book focuses on specific types of assays (therapeutic drugs, Vitamin D, hormones, lipids, amino acids, proteins, antibodies, etc.). Each chapter in this section has been written by an expert practitioner of an assay which is currently running in his or her clinical lab.