Estimating measurement uncertainty in quantitative methods not based on chromatography for doping control purposes

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Forensic Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• ISO/IEC 17025 mandates measurement uncertainty (MU) estimation for quantitative results.
• MU estimation is established for chromatography but less so for non-chromatographic methods.
• Practical methodologies for MU in non-chromatographic analyses are scarce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the applicability of a chromatography-based top-down MU model to non-chromatographic methods.
• To propose a practical methodology for estimating MU in diverse analytical contexts.
• To address the need for robust MU estimation in areas like haematology and human growth hormone misuse detection.

Main Methods:

• Adaptation of a top-down model for MU estimation.
• Application to two distinct case studies: haematological parameters and human growth hormone misuse.
• Utilizing available data, including quality control, proficiency testing, and method validation results.

Main Results:

• Successful evaluation of the top-down model for non-chromatographic methods.
• A proposed methodology incorporating long-term bias, imprecision, and standard impurity correction.
• Demonstrated adaptability for both data-rich and data-limited scenarios.

Conclusions:

• The proposed methodology provides a dynamic and re-evaluatable approach to MU estimation.
• It offers a practical solution for laboratories performing non-chromatographic quantitative analyses.
• Verification using proficiency testing results is a key component for validating MU estimations.