The Immunoassay Handbook

Immunoassays are now an essential part of clinical chemistry and research in the life sciences. They have helped to improve analytical work because of their ability to measure minute concentrations, in complex biological fluids, in a relatively short length of time. We depend on them to provide consistent results. However, the biological nature of the reagents, and the diversity of the samples being assayed, are just two of the root causes of problems which affect every immunoassay laboratory from time to time. Also the equipment used can cause problems if not properly designed and maintained. This book contains a separate section for each of the main types of fault that can occur, explaining what information is needed to solve the fault, how to investigate it and what could have caused it. Also included are sections on quality control and the principles of troubleshooting as well as a guide to diagnosing curve-fitting programme problems painlessly and a section on diagnosing problems in automated systems. "The Immunoassay Handbook" is designed to help solve problems with competitive and immunometric assays, and with enzyme, radioactive, fluorescent, luminescent and other signal sources. It has been especially designed for in-house and commercial assays from a variety of manufacturers.