A problem in chemical analysis in connection with measurements of a substance normally
occurring in a sample, or identification of a substance which should not exist
in a sample, is insufficient selectivity. In this article, we analyze this problem and propose remedies. We use
a real doping case to illustrate how
chemical noise causes a serious selectivity problem, probably causing a
false positive outcome.
References
[1]
van der Veen, A.M.H. (2003) Measurement Uncertainty and Doping Control in Sport. Accreditation and Quality Assurance, 8, 334-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-003-0644-6
[2]
de Zeeuw, R.A. (2004) Substance Identification: The Weak Link in Analytical Toxicology. Journal of Chromatography B, 811, 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchromb.2004.07.043
[3]
Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology, JCGM 200 (2012) VIM: International Vocabulary of Metrology. 3rd Edition.
[4]
ISO 11843-1 (1997) Capability of Detection—Part 1: Terms and Definitions. ICS.
[5]
Nilsson, G. (1991) Comparison of Measurement Methods Based on a Model for the Error Structure. Journal of Chemometrics, 5, 523-536. https://doi.org/10.1002/cem.1180050605
[6]
Nilsson, G., et al. (2018) IFCC Working Group Recommendations for Assessing Commutability Part 2: Using the Difference in Bias between a Reference Material and Clinical Samples. Clinical Chemistry, 64, 455-464. https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2017.277541
[7]
Miller, W.G., Thienpont, L.M., Van Uytfanghe, K., Clark, P.M., Lindstedt, P., Nilsson, G. and Steffes, M.W. (2009) Toward Standardization of Insulin Immunoassays. Clinical Chemistry, 55, 1011-1018. https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2008.118380
[8]
Honour, J.W. (1996) Testing for Drug Abuse. The Lancet, 348, 41-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(96)05336-6
[9]
Tsivou, M., Livadara, D., Georgakopoulos, D.G., Koupparis, M.A., Atta-Politou, J. and Georgakopoulos, C.G. (2009) Stabilization of Human Urine Doping Control Samples: II Microbial Degradation of Steroids. Analytical Biochemistry, 388, 146-154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ab.2009.02.013
[10]
Hassell, K.M., LeBlanc, S.A. and McLuckey, S.A. (2011) Chemical Noise Reduction via Mass Spectrometry and Ion/Ion Charge Inversion: Amino Acids. Analytical Chemistry, 83, 2352-2355. https://doi.org/10.1021/ac200439k
Maurer, H.H. (2020) Pitfalls in Drug Testing by Hyphenated Low-and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Drug Testing and Analysis, 12, 172-179. https://doi.org/10.1002/dta.2744
[13]
ISO 5725 (1994-1998): Accuracy (Trueness and Precision) of Measurement Methods and Results (6 Parts). There Are New Versions of Part 2 (2019) and Part 4 (2020).