v2026.1 · 1686 entries
Browse the Dictionary
Filter by domain, track, or full-text. Every entry is citable and CC-BY 4.0.
Showing 48 of 1686 matching entries (1686 total)
NIH AI Policy
NIH AI policy is not one document but three separate NIH Guide notices, each governing a different actor at a different stage of the grant lifecycle: NOT-OD-23-149 (June 2023) prohibits NIH scientific peer reviewers from using generative AI tools to analyze…
Sale-Leaseback (Equipment)
An equipment sale-leaseback is a two-part transaction, executed together, in which an institution that already owns a piece of equipment (1) sells it to a buyer-lessor at fair market value and (2) immediately leases the same equipment back for continued…
Ancillary Materials in Cell Therapy Manufacturing
A raw material used during the manufacture of a cell, gene, or tissue-engineered product that contacts the cells or construct during processing but is not intended to remain in the final product administered to the patient (e.g., growth factors, cytokines,…
Temperature Monitoring Alarm
A temperature monitoring alarm is the notification component of a temperature monitoring system: the function that detects a monitored storage condition moving outside its defined safe range and actively alerts a responsible person, rather than simply…
21 CFR Part 11 Temperature Monitoring
A temperature-monitoring system (freezer, refrigerator, incubator, or cold-room monitor) is accurately called "21 CFR Part 11 compliant" only when its electronic records -- and any electronic signatures applied to them -- meet 21 CFR Part 11 Subpart B/C…
Thermal Cycler Specifications
<p>Thermal cycler specifications are the documented set of performance parameters — block format and sample capacity, ramp rate, temperature accuracy and uniformity, gradient range, lid control, and connectivity/data-logging features — that a…
Scientific Data Management System (SDMS)
A scientific data management system (SDMS) is laboratory software that automatically captures, indexes, and archives electronic data files generated by lab instruments (chromatography, spectroscopy, balances, plate readers, raw instrument logs) in their…
True Lease vs. Finance Lease
A true lease (an operating lease under ASC 842) is an equipment lease where the lessor retains ownership for tax purposes, claims depreciation, and bears residual-value risk; the lessee simply expenses rental payments and, if there is a purchase option, it is…
Veterinary Cytology
<p><strong>Veterinary cytology</strong> is the diagnostic technique of collecting, preparing, staining, and microscopically examining individual cells (rather than intact tissue architecture, as in histopathology) obtained from an animal by fine-needle…
ELAP Certification (Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program)
A laboratory holds ELAP certification when California's State Water Resources Control Board (Division of Drinking Water) has accredited it for specific matrix/analyte/method combinations, called "fields of accreditation," allowing it to perform environmental…
What Is A2LA? American Association for Laboratory Accreditation Explained
A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation) is a US-based, nonprofit, third-party accreditation body, founded in 1978, that formally recognizes a testing/calibration laboratory, medical laboratory, inspection body, biobank, or certification body…
Tier II Reporting Software
Tier II reporting software is compliance software purpose-built to compile a facility's hazardous chemical inventory into the data fields, threshold calculations, and submission format required under EPCRA Section 312 (40 CFR Part 370), and to generate or…
Colilert
Colilert is a defined-substrate technology (DST) reagent, manufactured by IDEXX Laboratories, used to simultaneously detect and enumerate total coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli (E. coli) in a single water sample. A test is correctly described as…
Types of Equipment Leases
An equipment lease type is defined by two independent things: (1) the commercial end-of-term structure the vendor or leasing company offers -- fair market value (FMV), $1 buyout, 10% option, or Terminal Rental Adjustment Clause (TRAC) -- which determines…
TRAC Lease (Terminal Rental Adjustment Clause)
A TRAC lease is a motor-vehicle lease governed by IRC Section 7701(h)'s terminal rental adjustment clause exception: the lessee guarantees the vehicle's end-of-term residual value and pays (or is credited) the difference between that guaranteed figure and the…
Scale vs Balance
A scale is a general-purpose weighing instrument (commonly strain-gauge based) optimized for capacity and ruggedness with coarser readability, while a balance is a precision weighing instrument (traditionally comparative, now typically electromagnetic force…
What Is ANAB? ANSI National Accreditation Board Explained
ANAB (the ANSI National Accreditation Board) is a US laboratory and certification-body accreditation organization, operated as a subsidiary of ANSI, that formally recognizes a testing/calibration laboratory, medical laboratory, inspection body, biobank, or…
Xeno-Free Media
Xeno-free (XF) media is cell-culture medium formulated to contain no components derived from a species other than the one being cultured, used to eliminate the risk of xenogeneic contamination (viral, prion, and immunogenic non-human antigens) that comes with…
Unique Molecular Identifiers (UMIs)
Short, random or semi-random nucleotide sequences (typically 6-12 base pairs) added to individual DNA or RNA fragments during next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation, before PCR amplification, so that reads descended from the same original…
Cryo-EM Microscope
A cryo-EM microscope is a transmission electron microscope purpose-built or fitted with an integrated cryogenic specimen workflow -- a cryo-transfer/autoloader system, a stable cryo-stage held below devitrification temperature, a field emission electron…
SEFA 8 (Laboratory Fume Hoods Recommended Practice)
SEFA 8 is the Laboratory Fume Hoods Recommended Practice published by the Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association (SEFA), setting construction requirements and tracer-gas containment/face-velocity test protocols (As-Manufactured, As-Installed, As-Used)…
PhiX Control
PhiX control (PhiX Control v3) is an adapter-ligated sequencing library derived from the bacteriophage PhiX174 genome, spiked into Illumina NGS runs at a defined percentage to calibrate base-calling and error-rate metrics, and, at higher spike-in levels, to…
Single-Use Assemblies (SUAs)
A single-use assembly (SUA) is a pre-fabricated, pre-sterilized fluid-path component -- typically some combination of flexible tubing, bags, connectors, filters, and sensors -- manufactured, irradiated, and supplied ready to install into a bioprocess for…
Chemically Defined Media (CDM)
Chemically defined media (CDM) is a cell-culture growth medium in which every component -- salts, amino acids, vitamins, lipids, and any protein supplements -- is a known, individually specified chemical entity added at a documented concentration, with no…
Chemical Safety Software
<p>Chemical safety software is a category of purchased or subscribed platforms that help a lab, facility, or manufacturer manage the compliance obligations that come with owning, using, or producing hazardous chemicals. In procurement terms, a product…
Glove Compatibility Chart
A glove compatibility chart is a reference table, published by a glove manufacturer, distributor, or standards body, rating a specific glove product's resistance to specific named chemicals, typically as a breakthrough-time-based class (ANSI/ISEA 105's 0-6…
NELAC (National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference)
NELAC (National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference) was the multi-state, EPA-supported effort that created the original national standard for accrediting environmental testing laboratories, replacing separate state-by-state certification…
Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)
Fetal bovine serum (FBS), also called fetal calf serum (FCS), is the liquid fraction of blood collected from bovine fetuses at slaughter, clarified and filtered for use as a growth-supporting supplement added to basal cell-culture media (typically 5-10% of…
Eyewash Station
<p>An eyewash station is emergency safety equipment that delivers a controlled, hands-free stream of flushing fluid to a person's eyes (or eyes and face) to remove a hazardous substance following an accidental exposure. In U.S. laboratory and facility…
Nitrile Glove Sizing: Chart, Fit, and Facility Size-Mix
Nitrile glove sizing is the mapping between a glove's dimensional designation (XS through XXL) and hand-circumference measurements, used both to fit an individual wearer and, for institutional buyers, to translate a facility's hand-size distribution into a…
Nitrile Glove Thickness (Mil)
Nitrile glove thickness in mils measures the gauge of the glove material -- one mil equals 0.001 inch (0.0254 mm) -- and is reported per point on the glove (fingertip, palm, cuff) because dipped-glove manufacturing, the standard nitrile exam-glove process…
Procurement Card (P-Card)
A procurement card (P-card, used interchangeably with 'purchasing card') is a commercial charge or credit card an institution issues to a named individual for direct, point-of-sale purchases within defined transaction and monthly limits, reconciled centrally…
Central Stores
A centralized institutional department -- part of a university's or hospital's supply chain, procurement, or facilities organization -- that receives, inspects, warehouses, and internally distributes commonly used supplies, chemicals, and equipment to the…
Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)
The simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) is the dollar ceiling, set in FAR 2.101 and cross-referenced by 2 CFR 200.1 for federal grant recipients, up to which a buyer may use streamlined, informal purchasing procedures instead of formal sealed bidding or a…
GPO Administrative Fee
A GPO administrative fee is the percentage-based payment a vendor makes to a group purchasing organization (GPO), tied to the volume of purchases its member institutions make under that vendor's GPO contract, which the GPO retains to fund its own contracting…
What Is a DICOM Conformance Statement?
A DICOM conformance statement is a vendor-published document, structured per DICOM PS3.2 (Conformance), that specifies exactly which SOP (Service-Object Pair) classes a medical-imaging device or software supports and in which network role (SCU or SCP), which…
ECCN (Export Control Classification Number)
An Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) is a five-character alphanumeric code assigned to an item, software package, or technology when it matches a specific entry on the US Commerce Control List (CCL) under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR,…
CGA Pamphlet P-1
<p>CGA Pamphlet P-1 (<em>Safe Handling of Compressed Gases in Containers</em>) is the Compressed Gas Association's industry consensus standard covering the in-plant handling, storage, and use of compressed gas cylinders, portable tanks, and similar…
CGA Fittings
A CGA fitting is the standardized valve outlet/regulator inlet connection, identified by a CGA (Compressed Gas Association) three-digit number under CGA V-1 / ANSI B57.1, that is matched to a specific gas or group of compatible gases so that a regulator built…
USP Class VI Certification
USP Class VI certification is a designation that a specific plastic material or component has passed the most stringent tier of biological reactivity testing under United States Pharmacopeia (USP) General Chapter <88>, "Biological Reactivity Tests, In Vivo."…
Type I Borosilicate Glass
Type I borosilicate glass is a pharmaceutical primary-packaging glass classified under USP General Chapter <660>, Containers—Glass, as meeting the highest hydrolytic-resistance category through borosilicate composition and a passing result on the chapter's…
Biospecimen
A biospecimen is a biological material — such as blood, tissue, urine, saliva, or a derived product like extracted DNA/RNA, plasma, or a cell line — that has been collected from a human or other living source and preserved under a documented chain of custody…
EAR99 Classification
EAR99 is the residual classification for an item, software, or technology that is subject to the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR, 15 CFR 730-774) but matches no specific Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) entry on the Commerce Control List…
Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA)
A vendor neutral archive (VNA) is a medical-imaging storage architecture that ingests, indexes and stores diagnostic images and related clinical content in standard formats (typically DICOM for images, non-DICOM objects via XDS-style wrapping) with…
What Is a Radiology Information System (RIS)?
A radiology information system (RIS) is the software that manages a radiology or imaging department's operational workflow around an exam — patient scheduling and registration, order/accession tracking from request through signed report, radiologist reporting…
cGMP Facility
A cGMP facility is a drug, biologic, device, or API manufacturing site that meets FDA's current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations (21 CFR Parts 210/211 for drugs; Part 600-series provisions for biologics; Part 820/QMSR for devices; ICH Q7 for APIs)…
ANSI/AIHA Z9.5 (Laboratory Ventilation)
ANSI/AIHA Z9.5 ("Laboratory Ventilation") is the American National Standards Institute-approved consensus standard, developed and maintained by AIHA (the American Industrial Hygiene Association), that specifies engineering and performance criteria for…
GMP Facility
A GMP facility is a manufacturing, packaging, testing, storage, or distribution site that is designed, qualified, and operated to meet Good Manufacturing Practice requirements applicable to its product type (21 CFR Part 211 for finished drugs, ICH Q7 for…
