Among the various problems and questions highlighted by the laboratories we surveyed, I would like to focus on the most important ones, in order, together, we can find the Best Solutions. We could divide them into THREE GROUPS, to have a clearer identification of what many clinical laboratories are experiencing in Italy and around the world.
- PROBLEMS FROM LABORATORIES USING IMMUNOCHEMISTRY/RIA METHODS
- PROBLEMS FROM LABORATORIES USING “DO IT YOURSELF ” ANALYTICAL AND CHROMATOGRAPHIC METHODS
- PROBLEMS FROM LABORATORIES REGARDING STAFF TRAINING AND AFTER SALES SERVICES.
1° Group
PROBLEMS FROM LABORATORIES USING IMMUNOCHEMISTRY/RIA METHODS
1) “I need to avoid false positives. I want higher accuracy. Compared to the one we’re currently using, do more specific and sensitive techniques exist?”
2) “For a while we’ve been receiving now requests for the dosage of new generation molecules, which would amplify our analysis panel but our budget does not allow it.
Can we increase the number of molecules we can detect with the same budget?”
3) “To execute the dosage of hormones I utilize three different methods (RIA, ELISA and chemiluminescence). Sadly I buy more kits, keep more analytical platforms and need more people to get results by the end of the day. Even in such a way I am not able to obtain a complete panel and at best can dose 10 steroids. Is there a technique that will save time and money while allowing me to analyze all steroid hormones?”
4) “Like many of my colleagues I’ve already been working in Immunometry for some years. I would like to improve my business, offering more services to my clients. Who would I ask? What should I buy? Do I have to do everything myself?”
5) “I would like to utilize chromatographic techniques to improve the accuracy of my results. However I don’t have enough personnel to dedicate to one single instrument without facing an increase of working time and costs…”
SOLUTION
As you probably have already understood the solution adopted is to utilize ANALYTICAL CHROMATOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES
This is because Analytical chromatographic techniques are more Specific and Sensitive compared to all other techniques applied in laboratories. You can Save Time and Money with Multiparametric analysis instead of using multiple methods for the same analyte family.
In this way you don’t need to buy more kits to accomplish the same task (for example, in the case of steroid hormones, with LC-MS/MS it is possible to run the analysis of 17 molecules at the same time. This would otherwise have to be run with different techniques, basically one kit per molecule.)
It is also worth mentioning that as with the Immunometric techniques, chromatographic techniques can be automated with preparators/purificators
or even Robots that can be connected directly to both liquid and gaseous chromatographs. Chromatographs are “open systems”, therefore it is possible to Amplify the analysis panel at any moment.
Chromatography does not only allow you to solve some laboratory problems, but also widens the market in which you operate. It does this without compromising what you have already accomplished. You could for example offer new services that are not yet provided in your area.
