The Control of Performance in Immunoassays

Immunological assays are inherently imprecise when compared with many of the chemical and physical techniques used in clinical biochemistry. Even when optimized, they are subject to errors arising from the instability of reagents and the involvement of complex manipulations as, for example, in assay separation. Nevertheless, the increasing involvement of immunoassays in the diagnosis of disease and the monitoring of patient treatment emphasizes the need for the adoption of control procedures, such that assay performance is maximized and then maintained within acceptable limits.