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Reference materials

LGC, in its role as the designated UK National Measurement Institute (NMI) for chemical and biochemical measurements, develops and produces certified reference materials. These materials help analysts calibrate their instruments and validate and ensure quality control of their methods, thus enabling organisations to comply with technical regulations and provide users with confidence in the results of chemical measurements.

LGC is accredited to ISO Guide 34: 2000 for the production of reference materials by UKAS and is a founder member of the ERM® collaboration, which provides an additional level of peer review for all materials released under the ERM brand.

Background

Since the mid 1980s, in its role as the UK National Measurement Institute for chemical and biochemical measurement, LGC has produced and certified about 100 'single substance' and 80 matrix reference materials and has an active programme to sustain and develop the capability needed to produce high quality, certified reference materials. This activity is supported by DIUS’s National Measurement System Chemical and Biological Metrology Programme.

LGC assigns reference values and their uncertainties to its materials using data obtained from:

State-of-the-art primary methods (such as IDMS) and underpinned through participation in the key comparisons organised by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, The certificates of materials characterised in this way are recognised by other NMIs, under the Mutual Recognition Arrangement.

In its role as the NMI , LGC serves on the ISO Committee for Reference Materials (REMCO), which aims to carry out and encourage a broad international effort for the harmonisation, production and application of certified reference materials.

Materials

LGC’s single substance materials are primarily intended for calibrating analytical instruments. They include pesticides and other organic substances certified for purity, organic compounds certified for melting point and a range of high purity materials certified for enthalpy of fusion.

The matrix materials, which enable the accuracy of an entire analytical procedure to be checked, include:

Food products certified for proximates and trace elements
Environmental materials, including soils, sediments and waters, certified for organic and inorganic contaminants
A range of alcohol reference materials certified for ethanol and alcohol content to support drink driving and excise duty legislation
Frozen human serum certified for clinical markers and therapeutic indicators.

All LGC reference materials are available from LGC Standards and details of all products can be found at http://www.lgcstandards.com

European Reference Material® Collaboration (ERM)

LGC is a founder member of the ERM with IRMM of the European Commission's Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Belgium and BAM, Germany.

The materials are produced according to ISO Guides 34 and 35 and the collaboration ensures that the most advanced principles currently available for the production, homogeneity and stability for all materials are used. Each material is subject to a detailed peer review by the organisation’s Technical Committee before release. For details of the ERM collaboration and materials visit: http://www.erm-crm.org/

Accreditation

LGC has been accredited to ISO Guide 34:2000 as a Reference Material Producer in July 2006.