The Ur-Quan Masters Discussion Forum

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I am thinking that if we develop good HPLC-IR systems, then we can analyze our blood for vitamin definiciencies much more cheaply. Maybe we can even have such machines in our homes.  

I actually find it quite insane that most hospitals are using HPLC-MS systems, even though it probobly would be sufficient for them with much cheaper HPLC-IR systems.

That's a thought. I've definitely looked at spectra and thought, "I have no idea what this means."

I don't know if there's enough good information in the spectrum to get that out, though.

The famous chemist Robert Burns Woodward (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns_Woodward) that won the nobel prize in chemistry in 1965, is supposed to have been able to read molecular structures from infrared spectra. However, even if we might be able to prove that it is impossible to predict molecular structures from IR-spectra with 100% certainity, it doesn't mean it is impossible to make highly reliable predictions. So a machine learning algorithm might for example say that it believes it to have a specific molecular structure with a 95% probability.

If however the machine learning algorithm only searches for mathces to specific molecules (for example vitamins), then it can probably do it with a much higher level of certainity. So for routine checks at hospitals it shouldn't be a problem.

There are databases with IR-spectra available on the Internet (https://www.researchgate.net/post/Does_anyone_know_a_good_and_free_online_database_of_IR_spectra (https://www.researchgate.net/post/Does_anyone_know_a_good_and_free_online_database_of_IR_spectra)), so anybody with an Internet connection can start making a machine learning algorithm for this right away.

Before we all get our hopes up that your idea can actually fix things:
What is your expertise in this subject matter?

You shouldn't, unless you have a basic understanding of what I said.


This seems like an appeal to authority, which is a cognitive bias: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority)


And here:

Experts vs. Dart-Throwing Chimps

(https://sidoxia.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/chimp-darts1.jpg)

https://investingcaffeine.com/2012/07/08/experts-vs-dart-throwing-chimps/ (https://investingcaffeine.com/2012/07/08/experts-vs-dart-throwing-chimps/)

I am actually a well versed programmer with experience in machine learning. But not the medical/biological experience.

So that means that we should trust you without you having authority?

Well, I probably have more experience with chemistry than with programming.


No. You shouldn't trust me no matter what.

I want to discuss something related to this forum, i am new here and i want to know the rules of this forum. Can anybody tell me about this?

What type of topics can be posted here, what things we can post in off-topic boards?

Anything you want as long as it's not spam, porn, or attacking others.

The titles of the three forums are petty self-explanatory.

I work in a hospital lab. My educational background is just a BS in biochemistry, so I'm familiar with the techniques you posted. I've been working in a clinical lab for several years now.

I'll be a bit blunt here. What we use are analyte specific chemiluminescent assays to determine concentrations of analytes in serum. We don't use NMR, although one of our sub-labs that monitors metabolic deficiencies (usually in newborns) does use a HPLC-tandem mass spectrometer.

The easiest way to think about the real world version of this is working with a hundred-thousand dollar Easy-Bake Oven. A manufacturer will supply you with what you need, such as QC, reagent, the instrument and you load everything on correctly. You place the serum/plasma/urine/whatever onto the instrument and it will eventually give you a read out so long as the QC passes which validates the result.