Analytical Chemistry Division Overview

About the Analytical Chemistry Division

Mission

The Analytical Chemistry Division serves as the Nation’s reference laboratory for chemical compositional measurements and standards to enhance U.S. industry's productivity and competitiveness; assure equity in trade; and provide quality assurance for chemical measurements used for assessing and improving public health, safety, and the environment.

Overview

The Analytical Chemistry Division consists of approximately 90 scientists, technicians, and administrative/clerical support staff, and an additional 15 guest scientists and graduate students. About 25 of the Division staff are located in Charleston, SC at the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML), a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Medical University of South Carolina, and College of Charleston. The Analytical Chemistry Division has an annual budget of approximately $22M of which about $4M supports programs for other federal and state government agencies on a cost-reimbursable basis.

Core Expertise

The Analytical Chemistry Division maintains core expertise in:

(1) analytical mass spectrometry,
(2) analytical separation science,
(3) atomic and x-ray fluorescence spectrometry,
(4) gas metrology,
(5) nuclear analytical methods,
(6) nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, and
(7) classical and electroanalytical chemistry.

The core expertise resides in four groups/teams (Inorganic Chemical Metrology Group, Organic Chemical Metrology Group, Gas Metrology Group, and Specimen Bank/NMR Team) and provides the capability to carry out the Division’s broad mission with flexibility to respond to changing and evolving national priorities.

The Division activities are focused primarily in two areas: fundamental chemical metrology and the development of measurement methods and standards in the following areas:
(1) clinical diagnostics and health status markers;
(2) environmental monitoring;
(3) food dietary supplements and nutritional assessment;
(4) industrial commodities and advanced materials characterization; (5) forensics and homeland security;
(6) nanoparticle characterization, and
(7) hydrogen economy.

Because of NIST’s role as the National Metrology Institute (NMI) in the U.S., the Division’s measurement capabilities must be benchmarked against the capabilities of NMIs worldwide as required by a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) established in 1999. The MRA provides a framework for obtaining reliable quantitative information on the comparability of measurement services provided by all NMIs, thereby providing governments and other parties with a technical foundation for wider agreements related to international trade, commerce, and regulatory affairs. The Division actively participates in the International Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM) Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance – Metrology in Chemistry (CCQM) comparisons, which address chemical measurement-related issues important for international trade, environmental, health, and safety-related decision making.

Key Interactions with Customers

The Division delivers measurement services to the chemical measurement community through critically-evaluated reference measurement methods and procedures, Standard Reference Materials (SRMs), NIST Traceable Reference Materials (NTRMs), and measurement quality assurance programs. The Division is responsible for approximately 75% of the nearly 1300 SRM types available from NIST with sales in 2008 of nearly 26,000 units representing about 2500 unique customers worldwide.

Providing chemical measurement methods, standards, and quality assurance services in support of other government agency programs is an important part of our measurement service delivery portfolio. During 2007/2008, the Division was involved in over 30 different projects with support from 12 federal and state government agencies. The most prominent other-agency sponsors, based on level of funding, are the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (including Office of Dietary Supplements, National Cancer Institute, and National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases), NOAA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DoD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These other-agency programs are generally focused on the development of measurement methods, SRMs, and/or measurement quality assurance activities.