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Scientific relevance. The biological activity of medicinal products may vary depending on the method of production (i.e. biological or recombinant products). The widening variety of gonadotrophin preparations, the diversity of their production methods, and the irreplaceability of biological activity bioassays with physicochemical tests require improvement of animal testing conditions.Aim. This study aimed to determine the biological activity of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in several rat lines, analyse the findings, and select the most optimal testing conditions.Materials and methods. The biological activity was determined using in vivo methods. The comparative analysis used test results obtained over several years in inbred and outbred rats treated with FSH. In all cases, the authors used a three-dose randomised method based on the determination of the biological activity of test samples by comparison with that of the WHO international standard (IS) containing 183 IU of FSH bioactivity and 177 IU of LH bioactivity per ampoule (NIBSC code: 10/286). The study included immature female rats, inbred (Wistar-Kyoto or Sprague Dawley) and outbred. Testing conditions depended on the selected rat line, with the main variables being the test dose and the number of animals per group.Results. The authors compared responses of inbred and outbred rats to various doses of the FSH IS and test samples. Given the narrow range of the analytical procedure, Wistar-Kyoto rats showed a relatively weak dose–response relationship. The study demonstrated that the doses and testing duration depended on the sensitivity of the animals. Test results were less variable in inbred rats than in outbred ones. The statistical analysis of the results of FSH bioactivity testing in inbred and outbred rats showed that, with inbred rats, the number of animals could be halved without compromising the validity of the test.Conclusions. The approach proposed in this study provides for testing the biological activity of FSH with fewer experimental animals, improved cost-effectiveness, and the same reliability of results.

The most important component of national health policy is the assurance of quality, efficacy, and safety of medicines entering the pharmaceutical market in the Russian Federation. In this interview, we have discussed the quality control of medicines; its interconnections with various branches of science, in particular, with analytical chemistry; and the matters of material and equipment supply with Elena L. Kovaleva (Doctor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Deputy Director of the Centre for Medicinal Products Evaluation and Control of the Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation), Yuri A. Zolotov (Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Full Professor, Doctor of Chemical Sciences), and Dmitry V. Somov (Candidate of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Acting Director General of the Information and Methodological Center for Expertise, Accounting, and Analysis of the Circulation of Medicinal Products of the Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare).

Scientific relevance. Deuterated analogues of test substances, when used as internal standards, enable analysts to determine traces of residual pesticides in a medicinal plant raw material by gas or liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. This prompts the search for an undemanding method for the synthesis of deuterated reference standards, with the ultimate goal of expanding the range of reference standards produced in Russia.Aim. The study aimed to synthesise deuterated reference standards (malathion-D6, chlorophos-D6, dichlorophos-D6, and their precursors) and determine their spectral characteristics using 1Н, 2Н, 13С and 31Р nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry.Materials and methods. The study involved methanol-D4, phosphorus pentasulfide, phosphorus trichloride, maleic acid diethyl ether, triethylamine, hydroquinone, and chloral hydrate. The authors recorded 1H, 2H, 13C, and 31P NMR spectra using a QONE AS400 NMR spectrometer operating at a temperature of 298 °K and respective frequencies of 399.83, 61.38, 100.55, and 161.85 MHz. Mass spectra were obtained using an analytical system comprising an Agilent Infinity 1260 liquid chromatograph equipped with an automatic sample injector and coupled with a Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Fusion Lumos high-resolution mass-selective tandem spectrometer operating in electrospray ionisation mode.Results. The authors used existing methods for the synthesis of organophosphate pesticides as a basis and developed synthesis routes to produce the deuterated analogues malathion-D6, chlorophos-D6, and dichlorophos-D6. The synthesised compounds were identified by NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry.Conclusions. The synthesised compounds are highly pure and suitable for use as internal standards in the determination of organophosphate pesticides in medicinal plant raw materials. The synthesis methods developed by the authors can be used to produce reference standards in Russia.

Essential oils are a common group of bioactive compounds, yet their standardisation remains relevant.The aim of the study was to compare pharmacopoeial approaches to the standardisation of herbal drugs and herbal drug preparations containing essential oils using the examples of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation (14th edition) and the European Pharmacopoeia (10th edition).The advantages of Russian pharmacopoeial approaches include testing for additional groups of bioactive compounds that contribute significantly to the pharmacotherapeutic effect of extractive preparations. The main compendial method for the component analysis of essential oils is gas chromatography with a flame ionisation detector; its limitations include the need for a considerable number of reference standards. The essential oil content limits established by the two pharmacopoeias for the same types of herbal drugs are not the same. The differences may be associated with differences in sample preparation conditions and analytical procedures for the determination of essential oil content, as well as with growth conditions of plants used to obtain data sets for the standardisation of this quality attribute. As a particular medicinal plant may have several chemotypes differing in the essential oil composition, it seems relevant to consider this composition in the studies of pharmacological activity of herbal drugs associated with essential oils.

Reference standards for structure identification of recombinant therapeutic proteins are essential for quality assessment of recombinant protein-based biotechnological medicinal products. The development and certification of such reference standards hold special relevance because of, firstly, the absence of international, national or compendial reference standards for a number of new or recently approved proteins and, secondly, the disruption of supply chains providing the biopharmaceutical industry of the Russian Federation with international reference standards. Moreover, international and national regulatory documents contain only general requirements for the procedure of reference standards certification but not the considerations specific to the standards for biotechnologicals’ structure identification, which vary with the production technologies for each individual active moiety. The aim of this work was to provide recommendations on the procedure for the development and certification of reference standards used to identify the structure of recombinant therapeutic proteins. These recommendations define 4 main stages of the procedure: stage 1 covers the development of requirements for the reference standard, including the justification of material and formulation choices, the elaboration of quality specifications, and the assessment of quality; stage 2 comprises the selection of analytical procedures and the establishment of the values for the certified parameters; stage 3 includes stability studies and shelf-life setting; and stage 4 involves the development of documentation for the reference standard. The paper dwells upon the scope of the stages, taking into account the specific considerations for recombinant therapeutic proteins and the use of reference standards. The recommendations are based upon the extensive experience in biotechnologicals testing and standardisation of the employees of the Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products. These recommendations can provide a base for the establishment of protein-specific certification programmes for reference standards used in structure identification. This approach will allow for systematisation of the process for standards development and ensure the traceability of information and the validity of results. The reference standards certified in accordance with these recommendations can be considered primary standards, if necessary.

Some aspects of the adequate use of reference standards (RS) for making a reliable decision on the compliance of medicines are reviewed. An analysis of the specificity of using RS with the certified value and substance/reagent, for which the nominal value is considered to be 100%, is conducted. Status and specific character of using pharmacopoeial RS are considered. Issues of the use of RS for non-pharmacopoeial test methods as well as for non-pharmacopoeial medicines, problems of provision of RS for purity tests and RS for the analysis of herbal drugs and herbal drug preparations are analyzed. Some metrological aspects of the proper use of RS related to the implementation of the concept of uncertainty and the use of the principle of insignificance are discussed.

The article describes acute problem - absence of reference standards (Federal Reference Standards) of controlled ingredients of some potent pharmaceuticals (especially narcotic and psychotropic substances) in Russia. Authors present an algorithm for solving this task. According to regulatory documents providing traceability and technical regulation in Russian Federation requires use of the Federal Reference Standards for any official quantitative studies of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Lack of the reference standards does not allow provide: legally meaningful assessment of quality of medical products; to ensure industrial safety of work with substances belonging to list of dangerous goods; to conduct quantitative forensic analysis using instrumental methods, etc. Development of the Federal Reference Standards should be organized in the framework of technological cooperation of organizations (laboratories) which has necessary licenses. Production of the highest quality standards should be organized on a specialized facility where Federal S&T Center "Inversiya" has already made Federal Reference Standards of toxic chemicals. Creation and introduction in practices Federal Reference Standards of the controlled substances will provide scientific, technical and methodological foundations in development and implementation technologies for production of potent pharmaceutical ingredients in Russian Federation and solutions in the field of criminology and chemical safety and security.

Quality evaluation of biologicals entails some specific considerations and problems associated with inherent variability of biological systems. This has implications not only for biological and immunological test methods, but for physical and physico-chemical methods as well. Usage of reference standards (RSs) has an important role to play in the improvement of evaluation of biologicals’ quality. Absence of some industry RSs, which have the status of national RSs, makes it impossible to standardize corresponding products and to assess comparability of test results obtained by different manufacturers for similar (similarly named) products. The first step in the creation of the national system of RSs for medicines is the analysis of the demand for RSs used in quality evaluation of medicines, including biologicals. The analysis of the range of RSs demonstrated that existing industry RSs are not sufficient for performing quality evaluation of available biologicals. At present new industry RSs are being developed.

Pharmaceutical reference standards systems have been analyzed. The imperfections of a one-level system have been demonstrated. It has been shown that for making a reliable decision on the quality of medicines one needs to use a two-level system, an important part of which is the system of secondary reference standards (SRS) of a facility. The article describes the experience in the development and implementation of the SRS system in Ukraine within the transition to a two-level system.

The article analyses international experience in creating analytical databases with information on reference standards. The authors examined and compared publicly available databases, i.e. reference standards catalogues posted on the official websites of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare, the United States Pharmacopoeia, the British Pharmacopoeia, the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control. The article summarises features of each of the databases and compares the number of reference standard characteristics that are reflected in the databases. Based on the results of the analysis the authors assessed the existing international approaches to the creation of reference standards databases and determined the main information units to be taken into account while creating a reference standards database. The development of such a database will help improve and coordinate the collection and systematization of data on reference standards and promote the effectiveness of the Federal State Budgetary Institution «Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products» of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

Objective: To assess the adequacy of linear function of calibration according to GOST R ISO 11095-2007 for ethanol mass concentration measurement using internal reference materials (RMs)., Material and Methods: An experiment on calibration in accordance with the GOST R ISO 11095-2007 National standard of the RF was carried out using internal RMs, namely aqueous solutions of ethanol at different concentrations. Measurements were performed for two subbands of ethanol concentrations at RMs: 0.15-1.05 and 1.0-7.0 mg/ml - according to the certified methodology., Results: The graphs of the calibration's functions based on experimental data are consistent with the assumption of the calibration function's linearity, as well as the assumption of the standard deviation's constance of residues is equitable for two subbands of RMs., Conclusion: Proven linear models in the calibration experiment may be recommended for use in the ethanol mass concentration measurement.

Basis of acute pharyngitis pathogenesis is an inflammatory process at the entrance gate of the infection. Therefore, local immunity study proves to be the most informative. Difficulty in making that type of assessment is lack of generally accepted reference values and biological sampling techniques., Objective: Validation of biological sampling techniques to study the parameters of local mucosal immunity in oropharynx acute inflammatory diseases., Material and Methods: 30 people with acute catarrhal pharyngitis with intoxication syndrome were examined. The sampling was carried out in 7 different ways. 1. Collect saliva samples using the passive drool collection method. 2. Collect saliva, using cotton swabs placed into the mouth for 3 minutes. 3. Cotton swabs wrapped around a metal probe was placed on palatine tonsils and lateral walls of the oropharynx. 4. Instead of a cotton swab, a disc of laboratory filter paper with a diameter of 0.7 cm was used. 5. Scrape by the mucous membrane of the palatine tonsils and lateral walls of the oropharynx were made with a cytobrush. 6. Using a cytobrush, scrapings were made from the mucous membrane of only the posterior pharyngeal wall, excluding the region of the palatine tonsils. 7. Using a cytobrush to make scrapings from the only palatine tonsils mucous membrane. RT-PCR was used to determine IL-1β mRNA., Results: Minimal IL-1β mRNA values were detected in saliva collected by passive flow (0.095 [0; 3.45] units) and on a cotton swab (0.21 [0.1; 3.82] units). IL-1β mRNA in the material collected by methods No. 3 and No. 4 on a cotton swab and a paper disk did not differ significantly from each other. Its level was higher than in saliva and lower than in scrapings. The maximum result was revealed with method No. 5 when simultaneously taking scrapings from the palatine tonsils and posterior pharyngeal wall mucous membrane (4.76 [0.92; 8.13] units). The expression of IL-1β mRNA in the material obtained by methods No. 6 and No. 7 did not differ significantly from each other., Conclusion: Separated scrapings collecting from the palatine tonsils or posterior pharyngeal wall mucous membrane will allow assessing the inflammatory response autonomously in the lymphoid tissue and separately on the mucosa of the posterior pharyngeal wall. The mucosal scraping technique was the most effective for assessing cytokines in the oropharyngeal mucosal membrane.

The purpose of the article is to study specific features, problematic issues that arise during standardization in the health care sector, as well as the significance of this process for protecting the health of the population of Ukraine. The materials for identifying the essence of standardization in the health care sector were the legislation of the EU, Ukraine, as well as information from the WHO, the mass media, the caselaw of the European Court of Human Rights, political and legal publicism, analytical materials, reference editions and Internet resources. The methodological basis of the study is a set of general scientific and special legal methods of scientific cognition, the use of which is determined by the purpose, objectives and specific features of the subject matter of scientific inquiry. International, regional and specialized medical standards in the health care sector have been analyzed. The main requirements and standards enshrined in international acts have been highlighted. It has been established that the main objects of standardization in the health care sector are the rights and obligations of the population and medical workers, medical information and reporting, management and organization of health care, personnel, education, medicinal products, medical services, etc. The expediency of developing standards for medical workers practicing telehealth, cosmetology, as well as providing palliative care has been proved.

Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze a three-dimensional finite element model of a post-resection defect of the lower jaw, design and producing of an individual reconstructive plate, compare the stress-strain of this plate using standard reconstructive «CONMET» plate for stabilizing the lower jaw segments through a simulation of the chewing load., Material and Methods: The study was carried out on two identical finite elementary models with bone defects in the body of the lower jaw by fixing with a standard reconstructive «CONMET» plate and designed reconstructive plate. In order to simulate the biomechanical loads on the plates when chewing, an impact of force during the occlusal contact of the incisor was applied. The magnitude of the vertical load was equal to 150 N. The condylar processes were fixed in all three directions to prevent reaction forces in the temporomandibular joint., Results: Comparative analysis of two fixation methods showed higher value of equivalent Von Mises stress in individual reconstructive plate than in standard plate., Conclusion: Individual reconstructive plate has better strength characteristics compared to the standard reconstructive «CONMET» plate.

The reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction method (RT-PCR) has leading position on diagnostic infections, caused by RNA-containing viruses. This method presents severe requirements to carrying out of everybody stages of analysis (extraction of nucleic acid, carry out reverse transcription, amplification of DNA). It is necessary to account the possibility of false positive or false negative results appearance. The use on RT-PCR only positive (PCS) and negative (NCS) control samples is insufficient for the control of stages of RNA extraction and reverse transcription. That is way there is necessity the construction of inner control sample (ICS) to control of these stages. The main goal of present is the ground of use genetic engineering constructions (GEC) as control samples (PCS and ICS) on evaluation of diagnostic kits for reveal of RNA of hazard and extremely hazard agents of virus infections by RT-PCR. The vector recombinant plasmids, containing the insertion of cDNA of agent´s genomic RNA are used as PCS, RNA was packed in membrane protein of MS2 bacteriophage, is used as ICS. It is demonstrated that ICS does no influence on sensitivity of RT-PCR both for use of native agents and for use of synthetic nucleic acids of Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, Machupo, Venezuelan encephalitis equine (VEE), Rift Valley fever and rabies viruses. The possibility of use of PCS and ICS for standardization of diagnostic kits is discussed., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The toxic properties of 2-formylphenoxyethane acid for hygienic standardization in the air of working zone were studied. The substance in the dose equal of DL introduced into the stomach for male rats, male and female mice accounted for 5354, 3698 and 4322 mg/kg. It refers to moderately hazardous substances. No significant differences in species and gender sensitivity of animals to the substance were noted. It possesses a strong ability to cumulation: C is 2.9. It has a marked irritating effect to the mucous membranes of eyes and the moderate one - to the skin. Ithas a toxic effect on the liver, kidneys, central nervous system. The threshold of acute inhalation effect (Lim) is 120.3 mg/m. At Lim level it has no irritating effect on the respiratory tract. The tentative safe exposure level of 2-formylphenoxyethane acid in the air of working zone is 1 mg/m.

Accuracy of the microarray technology results is raised by using the multi-stage normalization of results. One of the principal requirements of such normalization is usage of internal standards. The routine Agilent microarray-based gene expression analysis protocol utilizes a Spike-In Kit during preparation of the samples representing a mixture of RNA fragments in different ratios. RNA probes which were synthesized in vitro conditions could be also used to establish how the magnitude of the fluorescent signal reflects the presence of RNA in the sample. A significant disadvantage of this type of standards is a difficulty of their production and the low RNA stability. In accordance with the Agilent protocol, the presence of the T7 promoter is necessary for the synthesis of labeled cRNA during sample preparation procedure. We hypothesized that we can successfully synthesize any RNA sequence having such type of promoter in its start position. Moreover, DNA sequence would serve as a matrix in this case. Using a set of different genes attached downstream of the T7-promoter in the plasmid DNA we have demonstrated in this study that such system can serve as a reliable template for the fluorescent labeled RNA sequence synthesis. In comparison with the routinely used internal RNA based controls, this template is stable, easy to manufacture and can be easily obtained in large quantities.

The study was carried out to evaluate variability of morpho-genetic potential of plasma rich in thrombocytes. The analysis of ADP-induced aggregation of thrombocytes separated from blood samples of 32 male volunteers aged 18-42 (22±3) was applied. The bimodal character of reaction of thrombocytes to ADP with peaks of aggregation in range of 30-50% and 60-80%. Besides individual differences in range of aggregation differences in time of reaching peak of aggregation and entering plateau were established. In some of volunteers the reversible character of aggregation curve reflecting absence of phase of thrombogenesis stabilization was established. The characteristics of aggregation curve, associated with activation of signal system, launching of degranulation of thrombocytes and exposition of GPIIaIIIb can reflect velocity and effectiveness of secretion of granules of thrombocytes at application of standard doses of stimulants of aggregation. These specifics substantiate necessity of preliminary evaluation of aggregation response of thrombocytes for prognosis of effectiveness of degranulation and release out of granules of thrombocytes biologically active molecules determining morpho-genetic potential of plasma rich with thrombocytes.

There was performed an analysis of the accounting of the impact of concomitant variables (confounders), introducing a systematic error in the assessment of the impact of risk factors on the resulting variable. The analysis showed that standardization is an effective method for the reduction of the shift of risk assessment. In the work there is suggested an algorithm implementing the method of standardization based on stratification, providing for the minimization of the difference of distributions of confounders in groups on risk factors. To automate the standardization procedures there was developed a software available on the website of the Institute of Industrial Ecology, UB RAS. With the help of the developed software by numerically modeling there were determined conditions of the applicability of the method of standardization on the basis of stratification for the case of the normal distribution on the response and confounder and linear relationship between them. Comparison ofresults obtained with the help of the standardization with statistical methods (logistic regression and analysis of covariance) in solving the problem of human ecology, has shown that obtaining close results is possible if there will be met exactly conditions for the applicability of statistical methods. Standardization is less sensitive to violations of conditions of applicability.

Hygienic standardization (HS) of chemicals remains to be the one of the effective ways to ensure chemical safety of the population. At that hygienic standards (such as maximum allowable concentrations--MACs) are interrelated and aggregated into the coherent systems. Therefore, the task of the study was in establishment of the logic of inter- standard relations between the existing standards and actualization of legitimate relations of the interrelations such as MACwz/MACatm, (i.e., to systematize standards) and so as CL₅₀/MACwz (reflecting the ratio of reliability). In the suggested systemic approach the benchmark indices of the proposed HS system are the values of the MACwz. Standards for other media, including atmosphere air may be only some compartments of MACwz. The performed studies and calculations allowed to justify and implement the system approach into the practice of HS in Ukraine. There is need for further search for additional solutions in nonreachability of LC₅₀ in the experiment, justification of standards for the population in the absence of MACwz, comparison with the data of normative databases of other countries. It is necessary to introduce the value of permissible deviation from the requirements of the systemness, to embody conditions (1)-(7) into the general principle of the prohibition of greater deviation and to harmonize acting and newly introduced standards within frameworks of modern ideology and methods of HS of harmful substances. This opens up broad prospects for the new phase of HS and a significant increase in the reliability of results obtained by the various methods and in different laboratories.

The article considers the technique of simultaneous detection of free catecholamines and free metanephrines in urine using inverse phase highly effective liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection. The solid phase extraction was implemented on cartridges with 30 mg of hyper cross-linked polystyrene (Purosep-200). The simplicity, reproducibility and sufficient sensitivity of technique permit applying it in clinical practice to diagnose pheochromocytoma.

The article presents data concerning new technique of diagnostic of diseases of metabolism of purines and pyrimidines using high performance liquid chromatography combined with electro-spray mass-spectrometry. The procedure of analysis is described in detail: from pre-analytical stage to interpretation of data of liquid chromatography mass-spectrometry, control of quality of data analysis, mass-spectrometry parameters and chromatographic conditions of analysis of purines, pyrimidines and their metabolites. The reference values are presented for purine and pyrimidine nucleosides and bases in urine of healthy individuals. The chemical structure of purines, pyrimidines and their metabolites and examples of chromato-mass-spectrograms under various hereditary disorders of metabolism of purines and pyrimidines are presented as well. The article is targeted to pediatricians of all profiles, medical geneticists and physicians of laboratory diagnostic.

In this paper a method is proposed for the quantitative evaluation of the concentration of sulfated glycosaminoglycans in the tissues of rat bladder using the calibration standards of alcian blue (AB) in 20% aqueous solution of gelatin. The blocks that have the consistency of a dense gel and serve as calibration standards of different dye concentrations, sections 7 and 9 μm thick are cut, and photographed. Using the "Videotest 5.0" program, in the slices with different concentrations of the dye, relative optical density of AB was determined and the graph of its dependence on dye concentration was plotted. On the basis of a calibration graph, it was possible to determine AB concentration in the histological sections of the urinary bladder stained with AB. In the sections of the urinary bladder of the intact rats the concentration of AB in the mucus covering the epithelial layer, was 22 ± 1 3 mg/cm3, while in the tissues of its lamina propria it was equal to 2.5 ± 1.0 mg/cm3.

The objective of the present study was to estimate the distribution of the carbamate pesticide carfbofuran in the organism of the warm-blooded animals (rats) after its intragastric administration. It was shown that large amounts of unmetabolized carbofuran were present in the internal organs and biological fluids. The highest content of carbofuran was recorded in the stomach, large and small intestines, testicles, urinary bladder, ureters, and heart.

Myocarditis is defined as myocardial inflammation, followed by cardiomyocyte necrosis. Diagnostics of myocarditis is based on unsafe and complicated method of endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). Development of myocarditis might alter gene expression not only in cardiac but in peripheral blood cells (PBC) as well. So, transcription profiles can be considered as possible biomarkers for the given pathology. At the moment, there are no reference genes defined for expression analysis in myocarditis studies. In this study, we analyzed mRNA content of six housekeeping genes in EMB and PBC samples. An algorithm for processing qPCR results obtained under the limited amount of sample is proposed. Set of GAPDH and HPRT1 genes has been selected for normalization of gene expression profiles in cardiac tissue and blood cells under the studies of myocarditis.

The application of standard samples and reference techniques of implementation of measurements is needed for a valid support of reliability of analyses applied in clinical diagnostic laboratories. They play role of landmarks under metrologic monitoring, calibration of devices and control of quality of results. The article presents analysis of shortcomings interfering with formation of national reference system in Russia harmonized with possibilities provided by international organizations. Among them are the joint Committee on metrologic monitoring in laboratory medicine under the auspices of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, the International Federation of clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine, etc. The results of the recent development of national normative documents, standard samples and techniques assisted by the authors of article are considered. They are the first steps to organization of national reference system which would comprise all range of modern analytical technologies of laboratory medicine. The national and international measures are proposed to enhance the promptest resolving of task of organization of national reference system for laboratory medicine in the interests of increasing of effectiveness of medical care to citizen of Russia.

Methods of whole blood trace element determination by Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (in the variant of Zeeman's modulation polarization spectrometry) have been proposed. They do not require preliminary sample digestion. Furnace programs, modifiers and blood dilution factors were optimized. Seronorm™ human whole blood reference materials were used for validation. Dynamic ranges (for undiluted blood samples) were: Al 8 ¸ 210 мg/L; Be 0.3 ¸ 50 мg/L; Cd 0.2 ¸ 75 мg/L; Сo 5 ¸ 350 мg/L; Cr 10 ¸ 100 мg/L; Mn 6 ¸ 250 мg/L; Ni 10 ¸ 350 мg/L; Pb 3 ¸ 240 мg/L; Se 10 ¸ 500 мg/L; Tl 2 ¸ 600 мg/L. Precision (RSD) for the middle of dynamic range ranged from 5% for Mn to 11 for Se.

The parameters of vanadium determination by ICP-MS in whole blood are presented. Conditions for blood sample preparation to reduce measure errors and to determine vanadium at the reference concentration level were optimized. The accuracy of the results is confirmed by analysis of standard blood samples Seronorm L1, L2 and L3. Vanadium mean in whole blood for the group of children from the town of Chusovoy (n = 80) was 1.29 +/- 0.45 microg/L, and vanadium mean for grown-ups from the town of Chusovoy was 1.63 +/- 0.25 microg/L.

The present work was aimed at generating the dynamic standard reference intervals (DSRI) and their application for chromosomal-aberration (CA) analysis. The evaluation of the generated DSRI was performed using the DNA samples from four patients with already known CA. High-resolution comparative genomic hybridization analysis (HR-CGH) allowed us to not only identify all of the CAs, that were not revealed by CGH, but also to detect the breakpoints and to determine the size of chromosomal imbalance.

The main principles of quality control in the laboratory practice of forensic biochemical departments are discussed. Recommendations on international standardization are suggested. Characteristics of the main phases of intralaboratory quality control of investigations and the reagents used in them are described. The necessity of quality control at all stages of forensic-biochemical studies and expertise is emphasized.

The main and side products of hydroxylation by the C. lunata VKPM F-981 mycelium of fourteen delta(4)-3-ketosteroids of the estrane, androstane, and pregnane series and six of their delta(5)-3beta-hydroxy analogues were identified by H1 PMR spectroscopy and comparison with standard samples. The obtained experimental data are considered in terms of the triangular model of the enzyme-substrate interaction. The dependence of the direction of hydroxylation of steroid molecules and the orientation of hydroxy groups on the structure of the initial substrate was revealed.

The article deals with study of the impact of standardization of blood smears preparation on effectiveness of functioning of Vision Hema system. The analysis was applied to the results of counting of 200 leukocytes in 30 blood smears prepared from venous blood stabilized with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid using thoroughly degreased slide plates and applying automatic device to prepare blood smears (comparative group) and in 49 preparations prepared manually from non-stabilized capillary blood (control group). The standardization of the procedure of preparation of glass samples resulted in five time decrease of total amount of artifacts and in disappearance of thrombocytes aggregates and pavement epithelium cells. The absolute amount of destroyed leukocytes decreased in 2.4 times and particles of dirt in 9.5 time. The proposed technique of preparation of smear increased velocity of automatic analysis of leukogram by the Vision Hema system in 2 times and speeded up validation by physician of derived results in 3 times.

The generalized data concerning the conditions of application of regulations of national standards in clinical diagnostic laboratories of medical organizations is presented. The primary information was provided by 14 regions of 6 federal administrative okrugs of Russia. The causes of challenges of application of requirements of standards are presented. They are mostly related with insufficient financial support, lacking of manpower, difficulties with reagents supply, inadequate technical maintenance of devices and absence of support of administration of medical organizations. The recommendations are formulated concerning the necessity of publishing the document of Minzdrav of Russia to determine the need in application of standards in laboratory practice.

The article presents the approaches to development and implementation of system of quality management in laboratory as an integral part of the given system in whole medical institution. The costs of works execution concerning quality support are to be weighted with economic profitability and timeliness of medical care provision to ill people considering pre-analytic stage (out-laboratory and in-laboratory) laboratory analysis. Factually it is a matter of development of system of balanced indicators concerning quality management of institution and laboratory functioning. The problematic issues are presented concerning maintenance of particular requirements of GOSTR ISO 15189 about quality of production. The emphasis is made on the necessity of training of administrations of laboratories in the field of quality management and economics of laboratory business.

Within the period of 2000 to 2012 the values of 40 diagnostically significant biochemical indices in venous blood were being determined during the pre-flight clinical and physiological examination of 28 Russian cosmonauts aged 35 to 54, members of main and back-up crews of expeditions to the International Space Station. The above examination was conducted 45-30 days prior to the launch. Taking account of the fact that each of the most of the cosmonauts performed several flights over the mentioned period and they were repeatedly included in back-up crews over and over again, each of cosmonauts participated in pre-flight examinations 1 to 5 times. Reference values were calculated for each of the studied indices. It was found that reference interval boundaries for 15 indices were narrower as compared to the generally accepted ranges. The upper boundaries of activity reference ranges of a number of enzymes, as well as of concentration of some metabolites of energy and plasticity metabolism were raised relative to mean population values. Thus, it was found that Russian cosmonauts being a specific professional team featured inherent reference values which differed from mean population values in a number of blood biochemical indices. It is conditioned by peculiarities of selection, physical training and psychic and emotional status of crew members during a pre-flight period.