Standard reference materials SRMs

Analysis of Standards The analysis of a standard containing a known concentration of analyte also can be used to monitor a system s state of statistical control. Ideally, a standard reference material (SRM) should be used, provided that the matrix of the SRM is similar to that of the samples being analyzed. A variety of appropriate SRMs are available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). If a suitable SRM is not available, then an independently prepared synthetic sample can be used if it is prepared from reagents of known purity. At a minimum, a standardization of the method is verified by periodically analyzing one of the calibration standards. In all cases, the analyte s experimentally determined concentration in the standard must fall within predetermined limits if the system is to be considered under statistical control. 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The NIST is the source of many of the standards used in chemical and physical analyses in the United States and throughout the world. The standards prepared and distributed by the NIST are used to caUbrate measurement systems and to provide a central basis for uniformity and accuracy of measurement. At present, over 1200 Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) are available and are described by the NIST (15). Included are many steels, nonferrous alloys, high purity metals, primary standards for use in volumetric analysis, microchemical standards, clinical laboratory standards, biological material certified for trace elements, environmental standards, trace element standards, ion-activity standards (for pH and ion-selective electrodes), freezing and melting point standards, colorimetry standards, optical standards, radioactivity standards, particle-size standards, and density standards. Certificates are issued with the standard reference materials showing values for the parameters that have been determined. 

Physical or artifactual standards are used for comparison, caUbration, etc, eg, the national standards of mass, length, and time maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or the standard reference materials (SRMs) collected and distributed by NIST. Choice of the standard is determined by the property it is supposed to define, its ease of measurement, its stabiUty with time, and other factors (see Fine chemicals). 

Laser based mass spectrometric methods, such as laser ionization (LIMS) and laser ablation in combination with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are powerful analytical techniques for survey analysis of solid substances. To realize the analytical performances methods for the direct trace analysis of synthetic and natural crystals modification of a traditional analytical technique was necessary and suitable standard reference materials (SRM) were required. Recent developments allowed extending the range of analytical applications of LIMS and LA-ICP-MS will be presented and discussed. For example ... 

Procedures for determining the spectral responslvlty or correction factors In equation 2 are based on radiance or Irradlance standards, calibrated source-monochromator combinations, and an accepted standard. The easiest measurement procedure for determining corrected emission spectra Is to use a well-characterized standard and obtain an Instrumental response function, as described by equation 3 (17). In this case, quinine sulfate dlhydrate has been extensively studied and Issued as a National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Standard Reference Material (SRM). 

Standardization. Standardization in analytical chemistry, in which standards are used to relate the instrument signal to compound concentration, is the critical function for determining the relative concentrations of species In a wide variety of matrices. Environmental Standard Reference Materials (SRM s) have been developed for various polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH s). Information on SRM s can be obtained from the Office of Standard Reference Materials, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Summarized in Table VII, these SRM s range from "pure compounds" in aqueous and organic solvents to "natural" matrices such as shale oil and urban and diesel particulate materials. 

Table VII. Standard Reference Materials (SRM s) for the Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH s) ...

Schantz MM, Benner BA Jr., Hays MJ, Kelly RW, Vocke RD Jr, Demiralp R, Greenberg RR, Schiller BS, LauenstEin GG, Wise SA (1995) Certification of standard reference material (SRM) 1941a, organics in marine sediment. Fresenius J Anal Chem 352 166-173. 

Donais MK, Saraswati R, Mackey E, Vangel MG, Levenson MS, Mandic V, Azemard S, Hor-VAT M, Burow M, Emons H, Ostapczuk P, and Wise SA (1997) Certification of three mussel tissue Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for MeHg and total mercury content. Fresenius J Anal Chem 358 424-430. 

Schantz MM, Demiralp R, Greenberg RR, Hays MJ, Parris, RM, Porter BJ, Poster DL, Sander LC, Schiller SB, Sharpless KS, and Wise SA (1997a) Certification of a frozen mussel tissue standard reference material (SRM 1974a) for trace organic constituents. Fresenius J Anal Chem 358 431-440. 

Wise SA, Sander LC, Schantz MM, Hays MJ, and Benner BA Jr. 2000) Recertification of standard reference material (SRM) 1649, urban dust, for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Polycyclic Aromat Compd, 13 419-456. 

Zeisler R (2000a) Investigations by INAA for the Development of Natural Matrix Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) Suitable for Small Sample Analysis. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 245 73-80. 

R.J. Soulen, R.B. Dove Standard Reference Materials SRM 768 Temperature reference standard for use below 0.5 K. National Bureau of Standards, US Department of Commerce, Special Publication 260-62 (1979)... 

Some reference material producers/suppliers use different names to describe their materials. For example, a Standard Reference Material (SRM) is a certified reference material issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), while European Reference Materials (ERMs) are CRMs produced under a joint collaboration between three European reference materials producers, i.e. BAM (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Germany), IRMM (European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Belgium) and LGC (UK). 

Standard reference data, 15 747 Standard reference materials (SRMs), 15 744-745... 

Sander and Wise [88] reported a new standard reference material SRM 870, which contains the neutral compounds ethylbenzene and toluene, to monitor hydrophobicity and methylene selectivity uracil (void volume marker) quinizarin to measure activity toward metal chelators and amitriptyline to measure activity toward bases. The... 

Multidimensional Data Intercomparisons. Estimation of reliable uncertainty intervals becomes quite complex for non-linear operations and for some of the more sophisticated multidimensional models. For this reason, "chemometric" validation, using common, carefully-constructed test data sets, is of increasing importance. Data evaluation intercomparison exercises are thus analogous to Standard Reference Material (SRM) laboratory intercomparisons, except that the final, data evaluation step of the chemical measurement process is being tested. 

A QC assessment was done for all samples. De-ionized water field blanks were collected on seven different days to evaluate process contamination. Site duplicates were taken at eight sites to evaluate repeatability and site variation. Instrumental precision was constrained by analysis of laboratory duplicate solutions, and is typically less than 5%. Finally, standard reference material (SRM) water standards were analyzed with sample batches, to assess instrumental accuracy. 

For most of the laboratories, additional quality control (QC) samples were inserted within each batch of samples sent. These included sample site duplicates, sample splits for analytical duplicates, a suite of USGS-prepared standard reference materials (SRMs), and... 

Certified Reference Materials. Certified Reference Materials are materials whose properties have been guaranteed or certified by recognized bodies. The certified analyses of these materials can be used as an estimate of the "true" value for assessment of accuracy. The United States National Bureau of Standards (NBS) provides an inventory of various materials whose compositions (and properties) have been measured using definitive and reference methods. These materials, Standard Reference Materials (SRM s), when used in conjunction with reference methods, i.e., one of demonstrated accuracy, make it possible to transfer accuracy between measurement protocols. 

A sample for which the true response is already known or is established is called a standard. A standard can be a primary standard, which is a standard through which other substances or solutions are made to be standards. It can also be a secondary standard, a solution whose concentration is known accurately either because it was prepared using a primary standard or because it was compared to another standard. All standards must ultimately be traced to a standard reference material (SRM). Standard reference materials are available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and should not be used for any other purpose in the laboratory (Section 5.4). Standardization is an experiment in which a solution is compared to a standard in order for itself to be a standard. The solutions used to establish a standard curve are often called reference standards and these must also be traceable to an SRM. 

In the above discussion, standard reference materials (SRMs) were mentioned often. A reference material (RM) is a material or substance suitable for use in calibrating equipment or standardizing solutions. A certified reference material (CRM) that a vendor indicates, via a certificate, is an RM. A standard reference material (SRM) is one that is distributed and certified by a certifying body, such as NIST. The SRM is the material to which all calibration and standardization materials should be traceable. A standard material becomes one when it is compared to or prepared from another. Ultimately, it all rests on the SRM — meaning all standard materials are traceable to an SRM (see Figure 5.10). 

Some of the methods commonly used for the determination of thorium in biological materials are given in Table 6-1. The colorimetric methods are not capable of isotope-specific determination of thorium isotopes. Alpha spectrometric and neutron activation analysis are useful in the quantification of isotope-specific thorium and thorium-232, respectively, and have better sensitivities than colorimetric methods. Alpha spectrometry is the commonly used isotope-specific analysis for the determination of thorium-232 and the thorium-230 derived from the decay of uranium-238 (Wrenn et al. 1981). Standard reference materials (SRMs) containing thorium in human liver (SRM-4352) and human lung (SRM-4351) necessary for the determination of absolute recovery in a given sample are available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Inn 1987). 

SOURCE OF NIST STANDARD REFERENCE MATERIAL SRM 164 9, AIR PARTICLES ... 

Throughout this chapter, we cite examples of the use of the NIST Standard Reference Material SRM 1649, which is referred to as Air Particles or Urban Air Particulate Matter, (a) to validate analytical procedures for determination of PAHs and PACs in samples of complex mixtures of particulate matter in ambient air and (b) for laboratory intercomparisons of methodologies for bacterial bioassays and bioassay-directed fractionations of organic extracts of such mixtures (e.g., see Claxton et al., 1992a Lewtas et al., 1990a, 1992 and May et al., 1992). 

TABLE 10.12 Concentrations of 10 PAHs in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standard Reference Material SRM 1649 Air Particles Determined by Dual Programmable Fluorescence Detector Method... 

Several organizations (e.g., NIST, NRC-Canada, and IAEA) provide sediment reference materials containing radionuclides, many of which are only certified for artificial radionuclides ( Cs, Sr, Am, and Pu). Certain specific radionuclides have no certified natural matrix materials, including ocean, lake, and river sediments. Although these sediments are certified for a few naturally occurring and artificial radionuclides, the extent of radioactive equilibrium of the uranium and thorium decay series in these environmental materials is not provided. NIST currently offers an ocean sediment Standard Reference Material (SRM 4357) in... 

Standard reference material (SRM) for wavelength accuracy, stray light, resolution check, and photometric accuracy can be purchased from NIST. Certified reference materials (CRMs) which are traceable to NIST and recertification services can be purchased from instrument manufacturers and commercial vendors [12]. The cost of neutral-density filters and prefabricated standard solutions in sealed cuvettes can be substantial. When purchasing performance verification standards from a secondary supplier other than a national standard organizations such as NIST in the United States and National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the United Kingdom, make sure that the traceability of the standards are available in the certificates. The traceability establishes the relationship of individual results to the national standard through an unbroken chain of comparisons. 

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