Instruments and methods

Steps

1. 1Pipettes, glassware and temperature checks15 min · Verify temperature at the working sample position · Follow the to-contain or to-deliver marking on volumetric equipment · Choose a pipette type for the volume and for viscous, volatile, or foaming liquids · Calculate delivered volume from water mass and the stated conversion factor
2. 2Water, vessels, balances and centrifuges15 min · Choose a vessel and cleaning process that will not alter the analyte · Tell balance readability from repeatability measured with mass standards · Calculate relative centrifugal force from radius and rotational speed · Choose resistivity, organic-carbon, or plate-count checks for the water an assay needs
3. 3Photometry and atomic absorption15 min · Trace a photometric fault to the lamp, wavelength selector, cuvette, or detector · Predict the effect of stray light on a high-absorbance measurement · Calculate a concentration from absorbance with the fitted standard curve · Match an atomic-absorption interference to its mechanism
4. 4Chromatography, electrophoresis, mass spectrometry and osmometry15 min · Predict elution order from how compounds interact with the stationary phase · Predict protein migration from buffer pH relative to the isoelectric point · Check the internal-standard response before releasing an LC-MS result · Choose an osmometry principle that detects volatile solutes
5. 5Electrodes, blood gases, luminescence and light scatter15 min · Explain why an indirect ion-selective electrode (ISE) can show pseudohyponatremia · Distinguish measured blood-gas values from calculated values · Distinguish excitation-driven fluorescence from chemical light production · Distinguish turbidimetric attenuation from nephelometric scatter
6. 6Flow cytometry controls, subset counts and detection limits15 min · Choose the flow-cytometry control for gate placement, spillover, or autofluorescence · Calculate an absolute subset count using the correct parent population · Report a low result within the method's detection and quantitation limits
7. 7Extraction, purity, PCR formats and controls15 min · Choose an extraction method for a DNA, RNA, or cell-free nucleic acid target · Accept or reject a nucleic-acid extract using A260/A280, integrity, and amplifiability · Choose endpoint, real-time, digital, or RT-PCR for the target and for quantitation · Locate the failed step of a molecular test from where each control is added
8. 8Probe stringency, sequencing limits and cost per result15 min · Predict how stringency changes nucleic-acid probe specificity · Limit a negative sequencing report to the regions and variant types the assay covers · Calculate cost per reportable result with a consistent denominator
9. 9Automated analyzers and documented competency15 min · Choose the next CBC check from flags, red cell indices, lipemia, or cold agglutination · Match a coagulation measurement principle to its likely interference · Recognize when an automated identification or susceptibility result needs confirmation · Tell course attendance from documented competency assessment

What you'll be able to do