Practical Guide to Implementing Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry in Clinical Laboratories

Given the increasing demand for mass spectrometry in the clinical laboratory and the lack of trained technologists and laboratory scientists at all levels to operate, maintain, and develop methods for those instruments, this book is intended to be a practical guide for clinical mass spectrometry. Mass spectrometry coupled with liquid chromatography has been proven to be a powerful platform for essential testing for patients in clinical laboratories. It offers numerous advantages over traditional immunoassays to better serve patient needs. However, there are many challenges in implementing this technology and gaining wide applications in clinical practices. Major reasons are lack of systematic training and lack of understanding of the technology by medical technologists and laboratory scientists. Mass spectrometry analyses are relatively complex, labor intensive and often involve manual processes. Successful implementation of the technology in a clinical laboratory requires a deep understanding of mass spectrometry. It also requires sufficient troubleshooting knowledge for routine operations. In addition, majority of the assays are laboratory developed tests, which require in-depth understanding of the technology as well as regulations to successfully develop and implement new assays in the clinical laboratories. This book discusses practical applications of clinical mass spectrometry covering topics from its implementation in the lab, routine maintenance and troubleshooting, to assay development, validation, maintenance, and to regulatory considerations. LC-MS/MS is a hands-on technology. Its manual process nature highlights the challenges on daily operations. Given the increasing demand for mass spectrometry in the clinical laboratory and the lack of trained…