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Assay
Synonymous with test or test method, e.g. enzyme
immunoassay, complement fixation test or polymerase chain
reaction tests. AOAC defines an assay as the total of all of the
steps from sample collection to final result.
Analyte
Constituent that is of interest in an analytical procedure.
Matrix
Totality of components of a material system except the
analyte. Ex.: soil, water, air, etc.
Qualitative method
Analytical method that results in a binary result: present or
absent. Frequently, the method has a design cut‐off point at
which the method is designed to be positive at all
concentrations about the cut‐off point.
Q i
i
h d
uant tat ve met o
Analytical method that determines the absolute or relative
abundance (often expressed as a concentration) of one,
several, or all particular substance(s) present in a sample.
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