CLINICAL CHEMISTRY REVIEW QUESTIONS – BISHOP
ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES
1. Which of the following is necessary fornot
obtaining
the spectrum of a compound from 190 to 500
nm?
a. Tungsten light source
b. Deuterium light source
c. Double-beam spectrophotometer
d. Quartz cuvettes
e. Photomultiplier
2. Stray light in a spectrophotometer places limits
on
a. Upper range of linearity
b. Sensitivity
c. Photometric accuracy below 0.1 absorbance
units
d. Ability to measure in the UV range
e. Use of a grating monochromator
3. Which of the following light sources is used in
atomic absorption spectrophotometry?
a. Hollow-cathode lamp
b. Xenon arc lamp
c. Tungsten light
d. Deuterium lamp
e. Laser
4. Which of the following is true concerning
fluorometry?
a. Fluorescence is an inherently more sensitive
technique than absorption.
b. Emission wavelengths are always set at lower
wavelengths than excitation.
c. The detector is always placed at right angles to
the excitation beam.
d. All compounds undergo fluorescence.
e. Fluorometers require special detectors.
5. Which of the following techniques has the
highest
potential sensitivity?
a. Chemiluminescence
b. Fluorescence
c. Turbidimetry
d. Nephelometry
e. Phosphorescence
6. Which electrochemical assay measures current
at
fixed potential?
a. Amperometry
b. Anodic stripping voltammetry
c. Coulometry
d. Analysis with ISEs
e. Electrophoresis
7. Which of the following refers to the movement
of
buffer ions and solvent relative to the fixed
support?
a. Electroendosmosis
b. Isoelectric focusing
c. Iontophoresis
d. Zone electrophoresis
e. Plasmapheresis
8. Reverse-phase liquid chromatography refers to
a. A polar mobile phase and nonpolar stationary
phase
b. A nonpolar mobile phase and polar stationary
phase
c. Distribution between two liquid phases
d. Size used to separate solutes instead of charge
e. Charge used to separate solutes instead of size
9. Which of the following is an advantage ofnot
CE?
a. Multiple samples can be assayed
simultaneously
on one injection
b. Very small sample size
c. Rapid analysis
d. Use of traditional detectors
e. Cations, neutrals, and anions move in the same
direction at different rates
10. Tandem mass spectrometers
a. Are two mass spectrometers placed in series
with each other
b. Are two mass spectrometers placed in parallel
with each other
c. Require use of a gas chromatograph
d. Require use of an electrospray interface
e. Do not require an ionization source
11. Which of the following is concerning thefalse
principles of point-of-care testing devices?
a. Devices do not require quality control testing.
b. They use principles that are identical to
laboratory- based instrumentation.
c. Biosensors have enabled miniaturization
particularly amendable for point-of-care testing.
d. Onboard microcomputers control instrument
functions and data reduction.
e. Whole blood analysis is the preferred
specimen.
12. Which is the most sensitive detector for
spectrophotometry?
a. Photomultiplier
b. Phototube
c. Electron multiplier
d. Photodiode array
e. All are equally sensitive
13. Which of the following is Beer’s law?
a. A e b c= × ×
b. %T = I/I0 × 100
c. E = hν
d. pH 0.59 Ve = Δ ×
e. Osmolality = × × j n C
14. Which of the following correctly ranks
electromagnetic
radiation from low energy to high energy?
a. Microwaves, infrared, visible, UV, x-rays,
gamma, cosmic
b. Cosmic, gamma, x-rays, UV, visible, infrared,
microwaves
c. UV, visible, infrared, microwaves, x-rays,
cosmic, gamma
d. UV, visible, infrared, cosmic, gamma,
microwaves, x-rays
e. Visible, UV, infrared, cosmic, gamma,
microwaves, x-rays
15. What is the purpose of the chopper in an
atomic
absorption spectrophotometer?
a. Correct for the amount of light emitted by the
flame
b. Correct for the fluctuating intensity of the light
source
c. Correct for the fluctuating sensitivity of the
detector
d. Correct for differences in the aspiration rate of
the sample
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CLINICAL CHEMISTRY REVIEW QUESTIONS – BISHOP
e. Correct for the presence of stray light
16. Which of the following best describes the
process of fluorescence?
a. Molecules emit a photon at lower energy when
excited electrons return to the ground state.
b. Atoms emit a photon when the electrons are
excited.
c. Molecules emit a photon when the electrons
are excited.
d. Molecules emit a photon at the same energy
when excited electrons return to the ground
state.
e. Molecules emit a photon at higher energy when
excited electrons return to the ground state.
17. Which is most accurate concerning ISEs?
a. Gas-specific membranes are necessary for
oxygen
and carbon dioxide electrodes.
b. The pH electrode uses a solid-state membrane.
c. The calcium electrode does not require a
reference electrode.
d. The sodium electrode uses an ion-selective
carrier (valinomycin).
e. The ISE for urea uses immobilized urease.
18. Which of the following regarding MS is ?false
a. Mass spectrometers can be used to sequence
DNA.
b. Ions are formed by the bombardment of
electrons.
c. Quadrupole and ion trap sectors separate ions
according to their mass-to-charge ratio.
d. Each chemical compound has a unique mass
spectrum.
e. MS detects for gas and liquid chromatography.
19. Which of the following is not an objective of
proteomics
research?
a. Identifying specific gene mutations
b. Identifying novel proteins as potential new
biomarkers for disease
c. Identifying posttranslational modifications of
proteins
d. Understanding the mechanism of diseases
e. Determining which genes are expressed and
which genes are dormant
20. Which of the following procedures is not
currently or routinely used for point-of-care
testing devices?
a. Polymerase chain reaction
b. Immunochromatography
c. Biosensors
d. Colorimetric detection
e. Electrochemical detection
CHROMATOGRAPHY AND MASS SPECTROMETRY
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. Partition chromatography is most appropriate
to identifying analytes that may be distributed
between two liquid phases.
b. Steric exclusion chromatography is best suited
for separating analytes based on their solubility in
the mobile solvent.
c. In liquid–solid chromatography, the stationary
phase separates analytes based on size, shape,
and polarity.
d. Ion-exchange chromatography has a resin
phase that is soluble to water and separation of
the mixture is based on magnitude and charge of
ionic species.
e. The partition coefficient is measured and
compared with standards in thin layer
chromatography.
2. In high-performance thin-layer chromatography
(HPTLC), developed bands are compared with
reference standard concentrations. Each band is
measured by:
a. Mass spectrometer
b. Densitometer
c. Ruler
d. Buiret protein assay
e. Two-dimensional electrophoresis
3. In which of the following components of a
chromatography instrument does selective
separation of a mixture occur?
a. Sample injection port
b. Column
c. Spectrometer
d. Quadrupole
e. Mass analyzer
4. True or False? In chromatography, the
stationary
phase is always of a solid matrix.
a. True
b. False
5. Mass spectrometry identifies analytes based
on:
a. Mass to charge ratio
b. Retention factor
c. Density of the band
d. Molecular weight
e. Solubility in the mobile phase
6. Drugs of abuse are typically measured by:
a. Thin-layer chromatography
b. Liquid/liquid chromatography
c. Gas/liquid chromatography
d. Steric exclusion chromatography
e. HPLC
7. PCR/ESI-TOF has the distinct advantage in
pathogen
identification because:
a. Requires the patient sample to be cultured and
then analysis can be performed.
b. Can be used directly from patient specimens.
c. Uses the protein “finger print” to identify the
pathogen.
AUTOMATION
1. Which of the following is NOT a driving force for
more automation?
a. Increased use of chemistry panels
b. High-volume testing
c. Fast turnaround time
d. Expectation of high-quality, accurate results
2. Which of the following approaches to analyzer
automation can use mixing paddles to stir?
a. Discrete analysis
b. Centrifugal analysis
c. Continuous flow
d. Dry chemistry slide analysis
3. Which of the following types of analyzers offers
random-access capabilities?
a. Discrete analyzers
b. Continuous-flow analyzers
c. Centrifugal analyzers
d. None of these
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CLINICAL CHEMISTRY REVIEW QUESTIONS – BISHOP
4. All of the following are primary considerations
in the selection of an automated chemistry
analyzer EXCEPT
a. How reagents are added or mixed
b. The cost of consumables
c. Total instrument cost
d. The labor component
5. An example of a modular integrated chemistry/
immunoassay analyzer would be the
a. Aeroset
b. Dimension Vista 3000T
c. Paramax
d. Vitros
6. refers to theDwell time
a. Time between initiation of a test and the
completion of the analysis
b. Number of tests an instrument can handle in a
specified time
c. Ability of an instrument to perform a defined
workload in a specified time
d. None of these
7. The first commercial centrifugal analyzer was
introduced in what year?
a. 1970
b. 1957
c. 1967
d. 1976
8. All of the following are advantages to
automation
EXCEPT
a. Correction for deficiencies inherent in
methodologies
b. Increased number of tests performed
c. Minimized labor component
d. Use of small amounts of samples and reagents
in comparison to manual procedures
9. Which of the following steps in automation
generally
remains a manual process in most laboratories?
a. Preparation of the sample
b. Specimen measurement and delivery
c. Reagent delivery
d. Chemical reaction phase
10. Which of the following chemistry analyzers
uses
slides to contain the entire reagent system?
a. Vitros analyzers
b. ACA analyzers
c. Synchron analyzers
d. None of these
11. Reflectance spectrometry uses which of the
following?
a. Luminometer
b. Tungsten–halogen lamp
c. Photomultiplier tube
d. UV lamp
e. Thermometer to monitor temperature in
reaction vessel
12. Modifications in microsampling and reagent
dispensing improve which of the following phases
in clinical testing?
a. Physician ordering phase
b. Preanalytical phase
c. Analytical phase
d. Postanalytical phase
e. All of the above phases
13. Bidirectional communication between the
chemistry
analyzer and the laboratory information system
has had the greatest impact on which of the
following
phases of clinical testing?
a. Preanalytical
b. Analytical
c. Postanalytical
d. All of the above
e. None of the above
IMMUNOCHEMICAL TECHNIQUES
1. The strength of binding between an antigen
and antibody is related to the:
a. Goodness of fit between the epitope and the
F(ab)
b. Concentration of antigen and antibody
c. Source of antibody production, because
monoclonal
antibodies bind better
d. Specificity of the antibody
2. In monoclonal antibody production, the
specificity of the antibody is determined by the:
a. Sensitized B lymphocytes
b. Myeloma cell line
c. Sensitized T lymphocytes
d. Selective growth medium
3. Which unlabeled immune precipitation method
in
gel is used to quantitate a serum protein?
a. Radial immunodiffusion
b. Double diffusion
c. Counterimmunoelectrophoresis
d. Immunofixation electrophoresis
4. In immunofixation electrophoresis, discrete
bands appear at the same electrophoretic
location, one reacted with antihuman IgA (α chain
specific) reagent and the other reacted with
antihuman reagent. This is best described as:λ
a. An IgA monoclonal proteinλ
b. An IgA polyclonal proteinλ
c. IgA biclonal proteins
d. Cross-reactivity
5. In nephelometry, the antigen–antibody
complex
formation is enhanced in the presence of:
a. Polyethylene glycol
b. High-ionic-strength saline solution
c. Normal saline
d. Complement
6. Which homogeneous immunoassay relies on
inhibiting
the activity of the enzyme label when bound to
antibody reagent to eliminate separating
freelabeled from bound-labeled reagent?
a. EMIT
b. CEDIA
c. MEIA
d. ELISA
7. In flow cytometry, the side scatter is related to
the:
a. Granularity of the cell
b. DNA content of the cell
c. Size of the cell
d. Number of cells in G and G0 1
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