reagent blank

A sample that contains no analyte, but contains the buffer, test reagents, or other materials required to perform a particular test. This is a negative control where results are not expected. The observation where the result(s) in this control may indicate the presence of contaminated or compromised reagents, which may impact the DNA or the serological results observed from samples tested at the same time. For forensic DNA testing this control is treated the same as, and parallel to, the DNA samples being analyzed.