NRCC CRMs

Comment CRMs NRCC CRMs DOLT-i (dogfish liver) and DORM-i (dogfish muscle) used, but no use of mussel or hair CRMs, despite availability of both. 

Valuable contributions were made by two Canadian agencies, particularly by the National Research Council Canada (NRCC) who, from about 1976, provided marine and marine biological CRMs certified for metals, metal species and organic constituents (Berman 1984 Willie 1997). More recently their Halifax laboratories have issued a highly respected range of CRMs for the determination of shellfish toxins. Another Canadian producer, the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) specialized in marine (water and sedimentary) CRMs, and from the late 1980 s their matrix materials certified also for organic compounds (Chau et al. 1979 Lee and Chau 1987). 

Table 3.6 presents examples for environmental and biological natural matrix CRMs from BCR, NIST and NRCC certified for elements using the above described analytical multi-method approaches. 

Tab. 3.6 Examples for BCR, NIST and NRCC natural biological and environmental matrix CRMs/ SRMs certified for elements...

As(III) and As(V) in seafood HGAAS NRCC DORM-1 and DORM-2, Dogfish muscle NRCC TORT-2, Lobster hepatopancreas, BCR CRM 278, Mussel NIST SRM 1566a, Oyster Mimoz et al. 1999... 

Comment A certified marine sediment reference material mentioned (NIST, NRCC ) But no other details given on the CRM used. 

Purge and Trap Using Capillary Cryofocussing A semiautomated, compact interface for time-resolved introduction of gaseous analytes from aqueous solutions into an ICP MS without the need for a full-size GC-oven was described [14]. Using this accessory, a method for the analysis of Fsh samples was developed and validated by the analysis of the Certibed Reference Materials (CRMs) DORM-1 and TORT-1 produced by the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) [11],... 

The direct coupling of SPME with 1CP-MS was described for the species-specibc determination of methyl-Hg [19]. A E>ber was inserted into a splitless-type GC injector, which was placed directly at the base of the torch. Immersion SPME was severely inBuenced by the matrix and led to a 70-fold decrease in sensitivity [19]. Analytical results showed good agreement between certified and measured values for the analysis of the NRCC seafood CRMs DORM-2 Dogbsh muscle and DOLT-2 Dogbsh liver [19]. 

Figure 16.2. Multicapillary GC-ICP-MS chromatogram of a seafood CRM (crab tissue, TORT-1, NRCC).

NRCC TORT-1 NRCC TORT-2 NRCC DOLT-1 NRCC DOLT-2 BCR CRM 627 Tuna Fish Tissue... 

Suppliers. BCR, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM), Belgium NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States NRCC, National Research Council of Canada. Classifications CRM, Certified Reference Material DORM, Dogfish Muscle Reference Materials for Trace Metals LUTS, Nondefatted Lobster Hepatopancreas Reference Material for Trace Metals SRM, Standard Reference Material TORT, Lobster Hepatopancreas Marine Reference Material for Trace Metals. 

The leading CRM producers in the world are NIST, the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Information about CRMs produced by NIST can be found at the NIST website, www.nist.gov/srm/index.cfm... 

The detection systems used with HPLC can be broadly divided into three approaches photometry, plasma techniques (ICPAES, ICPMS), and cold vapour atomic absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy (CV-AAS, CV-AFS). The method with the lowest limits of detection (LOD) with sample introduction via a direct injection nebulizer used ICP-MS. An HPLC system coupled to atmospheric pressirre chemical ionization MS was used to identify methyl mercury spiked into a fish tissue CRM (DORM-1, NRCC). This type of system has a significant advantage over elemental detection methods because identification of the species present is based on their structure, rather than matching the analyte s retention time to that of a standard. 

NRCC biological and sediment CRMs As Cd Co Cr Cu Fe Mn Ni Pb Se Microwave closed vessel digestion [WDMCV] Inject into GFA [ETAAS] [WDMCV-ETAAS] Nakashima etal. (1988)... 

NRCC biological and sediment CRMs Sn Digest with HNO3/HF/HCIO4 [WDC] Inject with modifier into GFA, Zeeman-effect background correction [ETAAS] [WDC-ETAAS] Sturgeon et al. (1987)... 

CRMs are produced by several institutions, including the Standard Measurement and Testing Programme (formerly BRC) of the EU, NIST/USA, NIES/Japan, NRCC/ Canada and lAEA/Austria. Unfortunately, until now only a few CRMs have been made available for speciation. The actual availability of respective CRMs can be obtained from catalogues or home-pages of these institutions, or from commercial CRM distributors. 

Two major species (DMA and arsenobetaine) were detected in both biological tissues. Extraction efficiencies were very different from one laboratory to another (50 to 90%), which may be explained either by the determination of total arsenic content or by the exraction method. Therefore, it was recommended to check that the quantification of total arsenic was under quality control by using a reference material of similar composition (e.g. CRM 278 from BCR or DORM-1 from the NRCC). 

The ISO Council on Reference Materials (REMCO) has identified more than 170 RM producers worldwide for the various fields of analyses. Two main bodies - the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, USA) and the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM, European Commission, Belgium), successor of BCR (which is now a trade mark for materials produced by IRMM) - cover several fields and ensure long-term availability of the CRMs due to the large batches of materials produced. Other producers specialize in a particular field of interest, e.g., the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC, Canada), the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES, Japan), the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratory (Monaco), etc., specialize in marine analysis. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, Austria) mainly provides materials for nuclear measurements but also supplies RMs for non-nuclear analyses. 

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