Component
| Abbreviation | Comp. |
|---|---|
| Synonym | Object, (analyte (see note 2)) |
| Definition | A part of the system |
| Scope |
The component is an object that is being or intended to be measured/examined Note 1: An object may be an atomic entity (e.g. Na-ion), molecule entity (e.g. Troponin) or a proces (e.g. coagulation) Note 2: Analyte is used interchangeable as an atomic entity, molecule entity, but not as a process. Component is a much broader concept. Note 3: Analyte has also been used as a quantity (measurand). However, that is not recommended (2) |
| Generic NPU syntax |
NPUxxxxx System(specification)—Component(specification); kind-of-property(specification)= ? unit |
| Specifications |
Specification added to the component may pinpoitn or restrict the concept intended. Specification usually designates the subtype of the component. E.g. “Borrelia burgdorferi antibody” is “any antibodytype binding to Borrelia burgdorferi”. “Borrelia burgdorferi antibody (IgG)” is “Immunoglobulin G binding to Borrelia burgdorferi” |
| Reference |
|
| Subjects | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Component without specifications | NPU28919 Patient —Urine; volume(procedure) = ? L | |
| NPU10028 Kidney— Carbamide clearance; volume rate(procedure) = ? mL/s | ||
| NPU56555 Blood— Dextromethadone; substance concentration = ? µmol/L | ||
| NPU56556 Plasma—Enalaprilat; substance concentration = ? nmol/L | ||
| NPU16870 Exhaled air—1,1-Dichloroethene; substance concentration = ? µmol/m³ | ||
| NPU23869 Plasma—Ethanol; mass concentration = ? g/L | ||
| Component with specifications | ||
| NPU58148 DNA(Plasma)—ABO gene(NG_006669.1:g.20145_20147insG); variation(procedure) = ? | ||
| NPU12459 Secretion(Trachea)—Adenovirus(ag); arbitrary concentration(procedure) = ? |
| Date | Subjects | Notes | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-12-15 | State of the chemical or molecular entity |
The concept of a chemical entity should reflect the exact chemical state in the specified system. E.g. sodium is a positively charged ion in plasma why the term is “sodium-ion”. Chloride is the name of chlor as a negatively charged ion in plasma. Thus, it is not termed “chlor-ion” |
I. Syntax and semantic rules (IUPAC Recommendation 1995) |
| 2024-12-15 | The term “total” |
“Total” means all of the chemical/molecular entity, However, the term of component concept reflects all and implies all of its entities. “Total” does not contribute any additional information to a term. Thus, “total” is redundant and should not be included. E.g. there is no different in the meaning of the concepts: “protein” and “total protein”. |
|
| 2025-03-26 | Double hyphen in element terms | In some international terminologies or nomenclatures, there may be double hyphens in a term, e.g. quinol–cytochrome-c reductase (Enzyme EC 7.1.1.8). In some software, e.g. word, the double hyphens will be converted to em-dash. Em-dash is the separator between system and component in the NPU definition/code. Double hyphens may cause “misreading” and distinguishing between the system and the component is not possible in the NPU definition. Thus, double hyphens shall be converted to a single hyphen. | Decision on SC-C-NPU meeting 2025-03-26 |
| 2025-06-08 | Component includes more than 1 component |
Some vendors may develop assays in which the value is the sum of quantities of two components. This may be expressed as “The substance concentration of Peptide B+Protein A in plasma is 20 mmol/L” (expressed in short P-Peptide B+Protein A,substance concentration? 20 mmol/L). Note 1: The number of subcomponents has administratively been set to maximum 2 to avoid long NPU definition. Note 2: The “+” is used to symbolize “the sum of the quantities of the subcomponents”. Note 3: The subcomponent should always be arranged in an alphabetic order to avoid dublicate concepts. Example of dublicate concepts: “Peptide B+Protein A” and “Protein A+Peptide B” |
|
| 2025-06-08 | Name and definition of component concept |
For each concept, the definition and term of a component should be established by an agreed international nomenclature for a given field. E.g. a virus is defined and termed according to the guidelines by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). To see the recommended nomenclatures for different fields used in NPU definitions, see Medical and metrological vocabulary Note 1: The preferred terms from the nomenclatures are used as terms. Note 2: For administratively and practical purposes, an online database may be used as a reference terminology because a unique idenfitifer exist. E.g. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/taxonomy provides an identifier for organisms and thus may used as reference for virus, bacterias, etc. |