CC PRELIM LAB L2

Clinical Laboratory Primary Purpose

To facilitate the correct performance of analytic procedures that yield accurate and precise information, aiding patient diagnosis and treatment.

Substance Concentration Units

Moles of solute per volume of solution, typically using the liter as the reference volume.

Analytic Reagent AR

Also known as ACS Standard Grade Reference Materials; the standard choice for most analytical laboratory procedures.

Ultrapure Reagents

Chemicals that have undergone additional purification steps; used for chromatography, atomic absorption, immunoassays, and molecular diagnostics.

Chemically Pure Reagent CP

Chemicals with non-uniform preparation and unstated impurity limits; not recommended for clinical labs unless further purified or used with a reagent blank.

USP and NF Grade

Chemicals graded based only on not being injurious to individuals; pure enough for drug manufacturing and most general chemical procedures.

Technical or Commercial Grade

Chemicals used primarily in manufacturing that should never be used in a clinical laboratory.

Primary Standard

A highly purified chemical with a purity tolerance of 100 plus or minus 0.02 percent that can be measured directly to produce a substance of exact known concentration.

Secondary Standard

A substance of lower purity whose concentration is determined by comparison with a primary standard.

Standard Reference Materials SRMs

Reference materials used instead of ACS primary standard materials.

Type I Water

Maximum water purity with less than 10 cfu/mL bacterial count; suitable for standard preparation.

Type II Water

Water with less than 1000 cfu/mL bacterial count and filtered through a 0.22 um filter; acceptable for routine analytical procedures.

Type III Water

Autoclave water used for qualitative tests, washing glassware, and as a source for preparing Type I and II water.

Borosilicate Glass

Most commonly used laboratory glass Pyrex or Kimax with high thermal resistance and a Pyrex strain point of 515 degrees Celsius.

Corex Glass

Special alumina-silicate glass that is chemically strengthened and six times stronger than borosilicate glass.

Vycor Glass

Alumina-silicate glass resistant to high thermal shock and extreme chemical treatments; can be safely heated up to 900 degrees Celsius.

Boron-free Glass Soft Glass

Glass with high resistance to alkalies but lower thermal resistance than borosilicate glass.

Flint Glass

Soda-lime glass used for disposable glassware due to poor thermal resistance and ease of melting.

Low Actinic Glass

Amber-colored glass used to protect photosensitive chemicals from light.

Teflon

The strongest plasticware material; autoclavable and highly resistant.

Acid Dichromate and Nitric Acid

Solutions used to scrupulously clean non-disposable labware for heavy metals or molecular assays.

Dirty Pipette Placement

Placed immediately in a container of soapy water with the pipette tips up.

To Deliver TD Pipettes

Pipettes calibrated to deliver the exact volume held by gravity drainage; must not be blown out.

To Contain TC Pipettes

Pipettes calibrated to hold a particular volume but do not dispense the exact volume; also known as rinse-out pipettes.

Blow-Out Pipette

Pipette with continuous etched or frosted rings near the mouthpiece; the final drop must be blown out to deliver the exact volume.

Self-Draining Pipette

Pipette that allows liquid to drain by gravity and does not have etched or frosted rings.

Volumetric Pipette

Transfer pipette designed for non-viscous fluids; self-draining and should not be blown out.

Ostwald-Folin Pipette

Transfer pipette designed for viscous fluids; characterized by an etched ring near the top.

Serological Pipette

Graduated pipette with calibration marks all the way to the tip; functions as a blow-out pipette.

Mohr Pipette

Graduated pipette without calibration marks to the tip; calibrated between two marks and functions as self-draining.

Air Displacement Pipette

Mechanical pipette where suction is created by a piston that does not contact the liquid, using disposable polypropylene tips.

Positive Displacement Pipette

Mechanical pipette operating like a hypodermic syringe, moving a piston directly inside the pipette tip or barrel.

Dispenser or Diluter Pipette

Automatic pipette that obtains liquid from a common reservoir and dispenses it repeatedly; combines sampling and dispensing.

Erlenmeyer Flasks and Griffin Beakers

Laboratory vessels designed to hold different volumes rather than one exact amount; often used in reagent preparation.

Graduated Cylinders

Long cylindrical tubes with calibration marks along their length, held upright by an octagonal or circular base.

Hydrate

A chemical compound combined with water.

Anhydrous

A chemical compound from which the water of crystallization has been removed.

Hygroscopic

Substances that readily absorb water upon exposure to atmospheric conditions.

Desiccants

Drying agents used to keep other chemicals from becoming hydrated.

Analytic Balance Calibration

Requires checking the accuracy of weights at least once a year.

Centrifugation Variables

Separation process relying on three variables: mass, speed, and radius.

Tachometer or Strobe Light

Instruments used to check the speed of a centrifuge.

Filtrate

The liquid that successfully passes through a filter paper during filtration.

Dialysis

A separation method for macromolecules from a solvent or smaller substances across a semipermeable membrane.

Biohazard Hood QC

Requires checking the air flow at least once a year or every time the hood is moved.

Refrigerator and Water Bath QC

Requires daily temperature checks.

Centrifuge QC

Requires checking the speed biannually.

Pipette QC

Requires checking the piston function every 3 to 6 months.