User:Mimosa taco/Drug carrier

Clinical chemistry (also known as chemical pathology, clinical biochemistry or medical biochemistry) is the area of chemistry that is generally concerned with analysis of bodily fluids for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. It is an applied form of biochemistry (not to be confused with medicinal chemistry, which involves basic researchfor drug development).

The discipline originated in the late 19th century with the use of simple chemical reaction tests for various components of blood and urine. In the many decades since, other techniques have been applied as science and technology have advanced, including the use and measurement of enzyme activities, spectrophotometry, electrophoresis, and immunoassay. There are now many blood tests and clinical urine tests with extensive diagnostic capabilities.

Most current laboratories are now highly automated to accommodate the high workload typical of a hospital laboratory. Tests performed are closely monitored and quality controlled.

All biochemical tests come under chemical pathology. These are performed on any kind of body fluid, but mostly on serum or plasma. Serum is the yellow watery part of blood that is left after blood has been allowed to clot and all blood cells have been removed. This is most easily done by centrifugation, which packs the denser blood cells and platelets to the bottom of the centrifuge tube, leaving the liquid serum fraction resting above the packed cells. This initial step before analysis has recently been included in instruments that operate on the "integrated system" principle. Plasma is in essence the same as serum, but is obtained by centrifuging the blood without clotting. Plasma is obtained by centrifugation beforeclotting occurs. The type of test required dictates what type of sample is used.

A large medical laboratory will accept samples for up to about 700 different kinds of tests. Even the largest of laboratories rarely do all these tests themselves, and some must be referred to other labs.

This large array of tests can be categorised into sub-specialities of:

• General or routine chemistry – commonly ordered blood chemistries (e.g., liver and kidney function tests).
• Special chemistry - elaborate techniques such as electrophoresis, and manual testing methods.
• Clinical endocrinology – the study of hormones, and diagnosis of endocrine disorders.
• Toxicology – the study of drugs of abuse and other chemicals.
• Therapeutic Drug Monitoring – measurement of therapeutic medication levels to optimize dosage.
• Urinalysis – chemical analysis of urine for a wide array of diseases, along with other fluids such as CSF and effusions
• Fecal analysis – mostly for detection of gastrointestinal disorders.

Clinical chemistry (also known as chemical pathology,.....) is a division in medical laboratory sciences that focuses on qualitative tests of important compounds, referred to as analytes or markers, in bodily fluids and tissues using analytical techniques and specialized instruments.^[1]  This field overlaps in knowledge with other fields such as medicine, biology, chemistry, engineering, informatics, and biochemistry.

Clinical chemists use automated clinical chemistry analyzer, a specialized instrument in many clinical laboratories that perform experimental techniques such as pipetting specimens, specimen labelling and preparations to advanced measurement techniques such as spectrometry, chromatography, photometry, potentiometry, etc . ^[2]This instrument yields different results that can give information on either the presence of uncommon analytes, the change in light and electronic voltage properties of naturally-occurring analytes - such as enzymes, ions, electrolytes, and their concentrations, all of which are important for the diagnosis of disease. Most current laboratories are now highly automated to accommodate the high workload typical of a hospital laboratory. Tests performed are closely monitored and quality controlled.

Many common clinical routine tests collect blood and urine for laboratory specimens, but mostly on serum and plasma in blood, and are carried out by clinical chemist or medical laboratory scientist.^[3] They serve as the interface between the laboratory side and the clinical practice, where they give suggestions to physicians on which tests to order and interpret any irregularities in test results that reflect on the patient's health status and functionality of organ systems.^[4] This allows healthcare givers to make more accurate evaluation of the patient's health and disease, diagnosis for the patient, prediction of disease (prognosis), screening, and monitoring the treatment's efficiency in a timely manner.

A physician may order a patient many laboratory tests on one specimen, referred to as a panel, if a single test does not give enough information to make a swiftly, accurate diagnosis and treatment plan. Panel testing gives a more extensive and thorough evaluation for changes in a patient's multiple markers associated with a particular disease and overall health status.^[5] Thus, it has higher predictive values at confirming or disproving a suspected disease, time-saving and cost-effective from doing multiple tests simultaneously per appointment.

Metabolic Panel (MP) is a common group of blood tests on a patient’s routine health examination, screening for potential diseases, and for monitoring vital signs of hospitalized patients with specific conditions. The panel analyzes different common analytes in the blood to examine the functions of kidney and liver, as well as electrolyte and acid-base balances. There are two types of MPs - Basic MP (BMP) or Comprehensive MP (CMP)^[6].

BMP includes eight tests, measuring for eight analytes in the blood's fluid portion (plasma) to understand a patient's kidney function, blood sugar level, electrolyte levels, and the acid-base balance in their body. Abnormal changes in the amount of one or more of these analytes are signs of serious health issues. The eight analytes are:

• Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, and Carbon Dioxide: they are electrolytes that have electrical charges that manage the body’s water level, acid-base balance in the blood, and kidney function^[7].
• Calcium: it is an important, charged electrolyte that our body needs for proper functions of nerve, muscle, blood clotting, and bone health. Changes in the calcium level can be signs of bone disease, muscle cramps/ spasms, thyroid disease, etc.^[8]
• Glucose: It determines the blood sugar levels, and is a crucial energy for your body and brain. A high glucose level is a sign of diabetes or insulin resistance. ^[7]
• Urea and Creatinine: They are waste products that the kidney filters out from blood. Urea measurements are helpful in detecting and treating kidney failure and related metabolic disorders, whereas creatinine measurements give information on kidney’s health, keep track of renal dialysis treatment, and monitor hospitalized patients that are on diuretics.^[7]