ICP-MS determination of Pt in biological fluids of patients treated with antitumor agents: evaluation of analytical uncertainty

The estimation of the uncertainty associated to the analytical methods is necessary in order to establish the comparability of results. Methods of Pt determination in biological fluids lack very often of information about uncertainty of results, with likely implications when results are used to interpret the mechanism of action of platinum compound or when they are considered to optimse the clinical therapies. An inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) method for the determination of Pt in biological fluids (plasma, ultrafiltrate and urine) of patients treated with antitumor agents has been developed and validated. The limits of quantification (LOQ) in the three matrices were 1.0, 0.1, and 2.0 mug/l, respectively. Intraday and interday precisions and accuracies were in good agreement with the FDA criteria for the validation of analytical methods. The validation study was implemented by assessing the uncertainty evaluation for Pt determination in the different matrices according to EURACHEM/CITAC Guide. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.