LC-MS/MS Troubleshooting for the Clinical Laboratory Certificate Program

This certificate program is completed online, at your own pace, within ADLM’s learning platform. It must be completed within one year of the purchase date.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This program was developed for clinical laboratory professionals with experience using tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for laboratory analyses. It would benefit technologists who wish to improve their technical skillset, as well as directors or supervisors who would like a course on issues that affect mass spectrometry testing operations. The content of this program is at the intermediate level and covers the resolution of technical issues with HPLC and mass spectrometry hardware, related mass spec assay troubleshooting, assay maintenance, and quality control, as well as common postanalytical problems.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Lab Supervisors, Lab Directors (and/or assistant directors), Lab Managers (supervisory and/or non-supervisory), Medical Technologists

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Review the goal and criteria of system suitability testing and preventative maintenance.
• Describe the sample preparation steps to maintain sample integrity, and explain approach batch building, extraction precision, and documentation.
• Review liquid chromatography fundamentals, system suitability tests, LC maintenance and troubleshooting.
• Explain how to identify and use QA tools to develop troubleshooting and maintenance plans for mass spectrometry technology.
• Discuss the components of gas chromatography mass spectrometry, its advantages and limitations, as well as troubleshooting techniques.
• Describe best practices for integrating peaks and how to implement protocols for manual peak integration, explain how to calculate and assess relevant quality assurance metrics, and how much data to review.
• Identify sources and types of QC matrix best suited to LC-MS/MS assays, and lists quality indicators for data analysis, identify the inherent QA/QC challenges of deconjugation and derivatization reactions and specifies appropriate strategies to work around these.
• Explain the range of analytical components that affect calibration of assays, describe the implications of nonlinear calibration curves, and identify steps in calibrator preparation and storage that affect accuracy.
• Describe how clinical LC-MS/MS labs handle lot changes, explain instrument service, and decommission, longitudinal and source material changes, analytical changes in testing methodology, and changes to software and personnel.

COURSES & FACULTY

Please note that the affiliations listed were current at the time their lecture was recorded.

1. System Suitability Testing and Preventive Maintenance
   Y. Victoria Zhang, PhD, University of Rochester Medical Center
2. Sample Preparation
   Brian Rappold, Collinsvile, IL
3. Liquid Chromatography for Mass Spectrometry: Operations and Troubleshooting
   Brian Rappold
4. Mass Spectrometry Troubleshooting
   Alan Rockwood, PhD, ARUP Laboratories
5. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry
   Uttam Garg, PhD, Mercy Children's Hospital
6. Data Review: Going from Peaks to Numbers
   Joshua Hayden, PhD, Weill Cornell Medical Center
7. Quality Control and Quality Assurance for LC-MS/MS; Hydrolysis and Derivatization
   Julia Drees, PhD, and Sarah Shugarts, PhD, Kaiser Permanente
8. Troubleshooting Calibration for Clinical Mass Spectrometry
   Stephen Master, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medical Center
9. Dealing with Change
   Autumn Breaud, PhD, Johns Hopkins University

DISCLOSURES

The Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (formerly AACC) is dedicated to ensuring balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all educational activities. All participating planning committee members and faculty are required to disclose to the program audience any financial relationships related to the subject matter of this program. Disclosure information is reviewed in advance in order to manage and resolve any possible conflicts of interest. The intent of this disclosure is to provide participants with information on which they can make their own judgments.

The following planners and faculty reported no relevant financial relationships:

• Autumn Breaud, PhD
• Julia Drees, PhD
• Uttam Garg, PhD
• Joshua Hayden, PhD
• Stephen Master, MD, PhD
• Brian Rappold
• Alan Rockwood, PhD
• Sarah Shugarts, PhD
• Y. Victoria Zhang, PhD

CONTENT VALDITY

All recommendations involving clinical medicine are based on evidence accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients; AND/OR all scientific research referred to or reported in support or justification of a patient care recommendation conforms to generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.

ACCREDITATION STATEMENT

This activity is approved for 11.0 ACCENT^® continuing education credits. Activity ID #4154. This activity was planned in accordance with ACCENT Standards and Policies.

SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION STATEMENT

Verification of Participation certificates are provided to registered participants based on completion of the activity, in its entirety, and the activity evaluation. The evaluation link will be emailed to the participants after all work within ADLM’s learning platform is complete. For questions regarding continuing education, please email [email protected].

Program Launch Year: 2016