U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Chemistry

Analytical chemistry

Projects/Programs

Displaying 101 - 125 of 139
]: Photograph of two vials containing human milk Standard Reference Materials.

Organic Compounds in Human Serum, Milk, and Urine

Ongoing
Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) have been specifically designed to assist in the quality assurance measurements for compounds found in human fluids. Clinical and biomonitoring laboratories rely on these SRMs for method validation and as control materials during specific analyses. Various human
Photo montage showing fill the airplane with fire-fighting foam, a spilled glass of wine on the tablecloth. Cleaning clothes and furniture from stains, Discarded Fast Food Wrappers Littered on Ground, wateproof jacket with water droplets on it. Jacket using the gore-tex technology.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

Ongoing
Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) constitute a family of compounds that are distinguished by partial or complete fluorination of alkyl hydrocarbons. Dubbed “forever chemicals”, the unique chemistry of PFAS imparts a high level of stability, making the compounds resistant to

Performance Metrics for Proteomics

Ongoing
Intended Impact Proteomics experiments designed to identify protein markers specific to a particular disease or disease state rely on repeatable identification of proteins within a control set. Repeatability provides statistical assurance that clear differences between two sets (e.g. sick vs
Point-of-Care Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Point-of-Care Pharmaceutical Manufacturing & Precision Medicine

Ongoing
We are employing quality by design (QbD) and risk assessment (cause-and-effect) approaches to investigate production technologies ( e.g., drop on demand or inkjet printing platforms) and appropriate analytical control strategies for point-of-care manufacture of narrow therapeutic index drugs

Polymer Formulations

Completed
Bringing new and optimized formulated products to market requires measurements that will allow rapid assessment of the structure and properties of multicomponent mixtures over large parameter spaces. To this end, we are developing microfluidic "lab on a chip" technologies that enable researchers to
Stylized illustration of a DNA molecule with associated figures that denote analytical measurements

Potential Primary Measurement Tool for the Quantification of DNA

Ongoing
The biotechnology industry relies primarily on absorbance and fluorescence methodologies to assess DNA mass. However, these measurements can be seriously compromised by impurities in the DNA preparations or state of the DNA itself. These techniques are also not traceable to the SI because the

Quantum Bioimaging

Ongoing
Our efforts in BBD are focused on using the quantum nature of light to facilitate enhanced and novel measurement technologies for biological samples. For example, so-called bright squeezed laser sources enable imaging and sensing with less noise than is classically possible. Additionally, entangled

Quantum State-Resolved Spectroscopic Techniques

Ongoing
Terahertz radiation interrogates the lowest frequency vibrational (phonon) modes of biomolecules. These modes characterize the incipient motions for large-scale conformational changes responsible for the backbone flexibility of protein, polynucleotide and polysaccharide. Thus, terahertz spectral
Graphic depicting the complexity of reclaimed and recaptured plastics. Textiles (arm chair, t-shirt, and spool of yarn), plastic containers (jug, rectangular food containers, and bag), and gaoline pump - along with chemical structures surround a globe with the bottom half covered with three buildings and half of a mechanical gear.

Recaptured and Reclaimed Plastic Measurements

Ongoing
Plastics are a complex mixture of various types of polymers with different chemical structures, shapes, and chemical additives. From microscopic nanoplastics (as small as 1 nm) to large megaplastics (over 1 m), plastic poses significant measurement science challenges. By developing accurate methods
Closeup of a plane's jet engine as it flies above the clouds.

Renewable Energy and Fuels

Ongoing
Fuel volatility and chemical characterization. We specialize in the Advanced Distillation Curve (ADC) method, developed at NIST, which is a powerful tool for the measurement of distillation curves to characterize complex fluids. We have applied this to simple hydrocarbons, gasolines, diesel fuels

Seabird Tissue Archival and Monitoring Project (STAMP)

Ongoing
Seabirds are an important group of upper trophic-level marine organisms with potential for accumulating lipophilic chemical contaminants which have been linked to adverse health effects. Analyses of seabird tissues, particularly eggs, have played important roles in temporal and spatial ecosystem

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Ion Source Development

Ongoing
In SIMS, a typical analysis requires <1% of the surface to be sampled, which minimizes chemical damage in the form of molecular fragmentation due to energetic ion bombardment. Cluster sources such as C 60 and Ar GCIB allow for efficient removal of the damage volume, and by operating the analysis and
nanopore event

Single-molecule biosensors

Ongoing
We are developing new tools to investigate the energy landscape of single-molecule sensors. Our goal is to apply a wide-ranging array of technologies to probe the critical physicochemical properties of nanopore biosensors. These properties include the free energy of confinement for polymers as they
Photograph of a packaged unit of SRM 2700 Hexavalent chromium in Contaminated Soil (low Level)

Standard Reference Materials for Hexavalent Chromium in Contaminated Soil

Completed
During the last century, chromate and dichromate chemical production facilities processed considerable amounts of chromite ore for industrial manufacturing purposes. The waste material from these operations called chromite ore processing residue (COPR) was disposed of in waste sites across the
Photograph of SRM 3103a showing a labeled clear glass ampoule and labeled box against a blue background.

Standard Solution SRMs Provide Traceability for Millions of Measurements

Ongoing
Literally millions of measurements of elemental composition are performed each year worldwide. The vast majority of these measurements depend upon reference materials for establishing traceability of results to the SI. Leveraged through commercial CRM producers, the NIST SRM 3100 series provides an
Breathalyzer

Standards Development to Ensure Reliable Breath Analysis in the Field

Ongoing
Numerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been identified in human breath. These compounds can be produced by the body or by organisms in the body (e.g., bacteria or viruses) and provide a non-invasive window into human health. Inexpensive point-of-care devices are being developed to diagnose

Study of Microheterogeneity in Solid Reference Materials

Ongoing
Presently there are a variety of analytical techniques that are served by few or no reference materials due to the small sample sizes they require. NIST currently certifies solid reference materials at or above the 100 mg mass level in most cases with no mention of the effect of using smaller sample

Surface Desorption Ambient Mass Spectrometry

Ongoing
The Surface and Trace Chemical Analysis Group maintains a range of research avenues into the characterization, analysis, and optimization of various commercial and in-house developed surface desorption ion sources. These research avenues also aim to advance our fundamental understanding of the
Research Grade Testing Material (RGTM 10212), Synthetic Fecal Metabolite Calibrant (Credit: NIST)

Synthetic Fecal Metabolite Calibrant Solution (RGTM 10212)

Ongoing
Metabolomics is an exciting and dynamic field in life sciences that harnesses cutting-edge technologies to identify and characterize small molecules, or metabolites, within cells, tissues, or organisms, collectively known as the metabolome. The wealth of evidence in the literature underscores the
Was this page helpful?