The Analytical Methods Committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry has for many years been involved in national and international efforts to establish a comprehensive framework for achieving appropriate quality in chemical measurement. This handbook attempts to select or define robust procedures that ensure the best use of resources and enable laboratories to generate consistent, reliable data. Written in concise, easy-to-read language and illustrated with worked examples, it is a guide to current best practice and establishes a control framework for the development and validation of laboratory-based analytical methods. Topics include samples and sampling, method selection, equipment calibration and qualification, method development and validation, evaluation of data and statistical approaches for method performance and comparison. Valid Analytical Methods and Procedures will be welcomed by many organisations throughout the world who are required to prove that the validity of their analytical results can be established beyond reasonable doubt.

knowledge. This material provided has been collected from different sources. One important source is the material available from EURACHEM. Eurachem is a network of organisations in Europe having the objective of establishing a system for the international tra- ability of chemical measurements and the promotion of good quality practices. It provides a forum for the discussion of common problems and for developing an informed and considered approach to both technical and policy issues. It provides a focus for analytical chemistry and quality related issues in Europe. You can find more information about EURACHEM on the internet via “Eurachem –A Focus for Analytical Chemistry in Europe” (http://www.eurachem.org). In particular the site Guides and Documents contains a number of different guides, which might help you to set up a quality system in your laboratory. The importance of quality assurance in analytical chemistry can best be described by the triangles depicted in Figs. 1 and 2. Quality is checked by testing and testing guaranties good quality. Both contribute to progress in QA (product control and quality) and thus to establishing a market share. Market success depends on quality, price, and flexibility. All three of them are interconnected. Before you can analyse anything the sample must be taken by someone. This must be of major concern to any analytical chemist. There is no accurate analysis wi- out proper sampling. For correct sampling you need a clear problem definition. There is no correct sampling without a clear problem definition

Analytical chemical results touch everyone's lives: Can we eat the food? Do I have a disease? Did the defendant leave his DNA at the crime scene? Should I invest in that gold mine? When a chemist measures something, how do we know that the result is appropriate? What is "fit for purpose" in the context of analytical chemistry? Quality Assurance for the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory explains the practices that chemistry laboratories adopt so that we all can have confidence in the answers to these questions.

The validation of analytical methods is based on the characterisation of a measurement procedure (selectivity, sensitivity, repeatability, reproducibility). This volume collects 31 outstanding papers on the topic, mostly published in the period 2000-2003 in the journal "Accreditation and Quality Assurance". They provide the latest understanding, and possibly the rationale why it is important to integrate the concept of validation into the standard procedures of every analytical laboratory. In addition, this anthology considers the benefits to both: the analytical laboratory and the user of the measurement results.

Adopting a practical approach, the authors provide a detailed interpretation of the existing regulations (GMP, ICH), while also discussing the appropriate calculations, parameters and tests. The book thus allows readers to validate the analysis of pharmaceutical compounds while complying with both the regulations as well as the industry demands for robustness and cost effectiveness. Following an introduction to the basic parameters and tests in pharmaceutical validation, including specificity, linearity, range, precision, accuracy, detection and quantitation limits, the text focuses on a life-cycle approach to validation and the integration of validation into the whole analytical quality assurance system. The whole is rounded off with a look at future trends. With its first-hand knowledge of the industry as well as regulating bodies, this is an invaluable reference for analytical chemists, the pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutists, QA officers, and public authorities.