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Gaithersburg

Photograph of a toy race car, toy monster truck with snail face, and sagging toy bridge.

Support of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 - Lead in Paint on Toys

After enactment of the CPSIA, a collaboration was established between the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and NIST for the purpose of developing tools

Support of Industry Compliance with the EU Directive on Restriction of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS)

The Chemical Sciences Division is involved in development of standards and reference materials for restricted hazardous substances through participation in

CCQM Activities in the Inorganic Analysis Working Group and the Electrochemical Analysis Working Group

NIST maintains an active role in these two CCQM working groups, participating in international key comparisons and pilot studies, organizing new studies, and

Determinations of Boron Deposit Quality by Neutron Depth Profiling

Straw detectors are a new concept in position-sensitive neutron detectors recently developed by Proportion Technology Inc. The detectors are especially valuable

Photograph showing labeled units of SRM 1649 Urban Dust and SRM 1649a Urban Dust.

Measurements and Standards for Contaminants in Environmental Samples

For the past 40 years NIST has developed SRMs for the determination of inorganic and organic contaminants in environmental matrices such as sediments/soils

Certification of Three Soil SRMs for Inorganic Environmental Measurements

Analysis of soils for metals and other elements is essential in assessing environmental compliance and the impacts of potentially toxic elements on human

Fundamental Interaction Mechanisms of Engineered Nanomaterials with DNA

We utilized isotope-dilution liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to determine the levels of the oxidatively damaged DNA bases, 8

Development of Biomarker-based Systems for Cancer Detection and Therapy

Biomarkers play an increasingly important role in disease detection and treatment. As one of the Biomarker Reference Laboratories (BRLs) in the Early Detection

Photograph of a packaged unit of SRM 2700 Hexavalent chromium in Contaminated Soil (low Level)

Standard Reference Materials for Hexavalent Chromium in Contaminated Soil

Significant environmental remediation efforts are being conducted to address the hazards posed by the long-term terrestrial disposal of hexavalent chromium in

Multidimensional Chromatography

Both comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) and comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LCxLC) have emerged as powerful tools

Standard Solution SRMs Provide Traceability for Millions of Measurements

For decades, NIST has provided the SRM 3100 series single-element standard solutions. The certified values are traceable to the International System of Units

Evaluation of Independent High-Precision Assay Procedures for a High-Purity Primary Standard Reagent

NIST assigns assay values for a suite of high-purity reagents using two techniques: coulometry and titrimetry. Coulometry is based on Faraday's Laws of

pH Metrology

The pH metrology program supports traceability for pH measurements. This traceability rests on primary pH measurements in an ideal electrochemical cell (Harned

Figure with five interlocking puzzle pieces representing different aspects of the measurement process.

Improving High-Performance Inductively-Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (HP-ICP-OES) Through Exact Matching

Using high-performance inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (HP‑ICP-OES), relative expanded uncertainties on the order of 0.2 % can be

Study of Microheterogeneity in Solid Reference Materials

Microbeam X-ray fluorescence (µXRF) has been used nondestructively to investigate elemental heterogeneity by constructing two-dimensional maps of elemental

Stylized illustration of a DNA molecule with associated figures that denote analytical measurements

Potential Primary Measurement Tool for the Quantification of DNA

The accurate mass determination of DNA and other nucleic acids is of critical importance in many clinical diagnoses and in forensic and molecular biological

Insights into Polymer Film Instability Could Aid High Tech Industries

January 13, 2009

While exploring the properties of polymer formation, a team of scientists at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has made a fundamental

Taking the Stress Out of Magnetic Field Detection

January 27, 2009

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have discovered that a carefully built magnetic sandwich that interleaves layers of a

Single wall carbon nanotubes enclosed in bile acid shells self assembled into a sheaf of long ordered fibrils each composed of several nanotube rods.

'Two-Faced' Bioacids Put a New Face on Carbon Nanotube Self-Assembly

January 13, 2009

Nanotubes, the tiny honeycomb cylinders of carbon atoms only a few nanometers wide, are perhaps the signature material of modern engineering research, but

Photograph of SRM SRM 1694a sulfur dioxide in nitrogen showing a labeled gas cylinder.

Gas Concentration Standards Supporting Atmospheric Monitoring

Monitoring of Earth’s atmosphere for trace and greenhouse gases relies upon a system of high accuracy gas concentration standards. Greenhouse gases

Photography of gas cylinder storage facility with cylinders stored horizontally in movable cabinets.

Traceable Calibration Gases: SRMs, NTRMs, and Protocol Gases

The Gas Sensing Metrology Group in the Chemical Sciences Division is tasked with providing traceability in gas analysis for the U.S. This group works with

Metrology for Nanolithography

Our goal is to develop measurements that quantify the shape, size, orientation, and fidelity of nanoscale patterns as a platform to quantitatively evaluate

Photograph of an automobile at an emissions testing station, with testing equipment and probe positioned at the car tailpipe.

New Gas Standard Reference Materials to Support the Automotive Industry

The American Industry/Government Emissions Research (AIGER) Consortium is working to facilitate the automobile industry meeting more stringent 2003 Federal Tier

NIST Traceable Reference Material Program for Gas Standards

Two NIST programs provide calibration gas standards with NIST analyses and concentration value assignment: the Standard Reference Material (SRM) program and the

Audit of EPA Protocol Gas Suppliers

EPA Protocol gas mixture calibration standards are obtained by users to measure emissions of regulated gaseous species and ensure that they comply with US

Development of Standards for the World Meteorological Organization, Global Atmosphere Watch Program

The presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which include hydrocarbons, monoterpenes and oxygenates, in the atmosphere has become important to climate

Photograph of the NIST Standard Reference Photometer showing the component modules consisting of optical bench with sample and reference tubes, ozone generator module with controls and tubing, and control module with numeric LED displays.

The NIST Standard Reference Photometer for Ozone Measurement Traceability

The NIST Standard Reference Photometer (SRP), developed jointly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), has provided an infrastructure for the

Photograph showing Gas Pump Octane Options

International Collaborations to Improve the Accuracy of Gas Primary Standards

The Gas Metrology Group periodically participates in bilateral and multi-laboratory international comparisons. During the past two years comparisons have taken

Wordcloud consisting of words CCQM metrology group task etc.

CCQM Activities in the Gas Analysis Working Group

NIST's Chemical Sciences Division Gas Sensing Metrology Group has participated in over 40 Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance-Metrology in Chemistry

CCQM Activities in the Organic Analysis Working Group

NIST's Chemical Sciences Division has participated in over 50  Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance - Metrology in Chemistry (CCQM) Organic Analysis

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