Abstract
Issues of current interest to certified reference material producers are addressed. Alternative strategies for certification of matrix reference materials are discussed and the benefits of adopting a flexible, cost-effective approach are described. The difficulty of undertaking homogeneity testing where certification is to be carried out with definitive techniques capable of providing very small measurement uncertainty is discussed. Methodology is described which combines conventional screening of the candidate material for homogeneity with an additional, precise assessment of homogeneity based on isotope dilution mass spectrometry measurements. A systematic procedure for evaluating the commutability (horizontal traceability or scope) of matrix reference materials has been evaluated and shows that in some circumstances matrix effects may be less pervasive than is generally believed. This offers the possibility, especially for trace analysis applications, of more efficient use of existing reference materials without compromising measurement reliability. Vertical traceability of matrix reference material data is of growing interest but is difficult to achieve with present interlaboratory certification exercises. A modification is described which attempts to address this issue. It also offers the possibility of improved identification of outliers and reduced variation of data between the participating laboratories.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Catterick T, Fairman B, Harrington CF (1998) J Anal At Spectrom 13:1109
Wahlen R, O'Connor G, Fairman B (2001) In: Gelpi E (ed) Advances in mass spectrometry. Wiley, Chichester, pp 963–964
Wolff Briche CSJ, Harrington C, Catterick T, Fairman B (2001) Anal Chim Acta 437:1
Evans P, Wolff Briche C, Fairman B (2001) J Anal At Spectrom 16:964
Sargent M, Harrrington C, Harte R (eds) (2002) Guidelines for achieving high accuracy in isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK
Wolff Briche CSJ, Carter D, Webb KS (2002) Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 16:848
Sargent M (2003) Accred Qual Assur 8:480
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 LGC Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Holcombe, G., Lawn, R., Sargent, M. (2004). Improvements in efficiency of production and traceability for certification of reference materials. In: De Bièvre, P., Günzler, H. (eds) Traceability in Chemical Measurement. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27093-0_29
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27093-0_29
Received:
Accepted:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-43989-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-27093-5
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)