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Material Measurement Laboratory

Biomolecular Measurement Division

News and Updates

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Free Software Can Help Spot New Forms of Fentanyl and Other Illegal Drugs

March 7, 2018

Fentanyl, the synthetic drug that is driving a nationwide overdose epidemic, is not only a killer. It’s also a shape shifter. Illicit chemists are constantly

A close-up view of cells that have been labelled with fluorophores in blue, green, red and orange to highlight composition.

CHO and Tell

February 22, 2018

Although few people realize it, modern medicine relies heavily on the ovarian cells of Chinese hamsters, not as a direct cure, but rather as a way to engineer

Illustration of 5 roundish objects of purple and blue arranged in a circle

NIST Standard Story: Matters of the Heart

September 20, 2017

NIST scientists have thoroughly measured and characterized more than 1,300 physical products, NIST Standard Reference Materials ®, to help people in industry

New NIST Tool Aims to Improve Accuracy of Test to Determine Cardiovascular Disease Risk

September 19, 2017

Cardiovascular disease caused one out of three deaths in the United States in 2016, and for decades it has been the leading killer for both men and women

Woman uses gas analysis mass spectrometer at NBS for chemical analysis of gas or vapor mixtures

NIST Upgrades Widely Used Database of Molecular 'Fingerprints'

June 6, 2017

When scientists need to identify an unknown compound, they do what a police detective might do. They get fingerprints—in this case, the “molecular fingerprints”

NIST Research Enables Enhanced DNA “Fingerprints”

December 15, 2016

As the new year approaches, forensic labs across the country are gearing up for a big change in the way they generate DNA profiles, the genetic fingerprints so

An Extraordinary Standard: New NIST Protein Could Spur Biopharmaceutical Innovation

July 28, 2016

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued one of the world's most intricate measurement standards: an exhaustively

NISTmAb: Portrait of an "Anchor Molecule"

July 28, 2016

Companies will continue to generate and maintain their own in-house standards for each specific monoclonal antibody therapeutic drugs, but the new NIST

New Model May Help Solve the Mystery of How Lithium Stabilizes Moods

July 27, 2016

New measurements may have lifted the veil on the vexingly elusive interactions through which lithium can moderate the manic highs and debilitating lows

When efavirenz binds to CYP46A1 at the site shown, it increases the flexibility of the protein in the region around cholesterol.

Shape-Changing Enzyme Suggests How Small Doses of Anti-HIV Drug Might Treat Alzheimer's Disease

June 28, 2016

For a promising pathway to treating Alzheimer's patients, "aim here." That's what National Institute of Standards of Technology (NIST) researchers advised

NIST Forensic Scientist Helps Vietnamese Counterparts Identify Wartime Remains

May 18, 2016

In a Hanoi, Vietnam, hotel conference room, Mike Coble led a group of scientists through a series of calculations. Coble's presentation was heavy on the

New Experimental Test Detects Signs of Lyme Disease Near Time of Infection

February 11, 2016

When it comes to early diagnosis of Lyme disease, the insidious tick-borne illness that afflicts about 300,000 Americans annually, finding the proverbial needle

Image of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

Assessing the Biosimilarity of Protein Drugs: New Study Shows Method's Precision at Atomic Resolution

February 5, 2016

A first-ever interlaboratory study of four versions of a therapeutic protein drug—all manufactured from living cells—reports that an established analytical tool

NIST Develops NMR 'Fingerprinting' for Monoclonal Antibodies

April 14, 2015

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) have demonstrated the most

Ensuring Quality: NIST Suggests New Purity Test for Biotech Products

December 2, 2014

To avoid contaminating their experiments, biomedical researchers want to know that the scientific products they buy are pure. But how pure does something need

Latest NIST Mass Spectral Library: Expanded Coverage, Features

July 29, 2014

The world's most widely used and trusted resource for identifying mass spectra, the "fingerprints" of molecules, has undergone a major expansion, according to

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody molecule with glycan attached. Inset shows glycan structure.

New NIST Web Tool Makes Working with Glycan Sugars a Lot Sweeter

July 11, 2014

When researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) need a special tool to do their work more effectively, they often prove that

Capillary Device Significantly Improves Manufacture of Quality Liposomes

May 20, 2014

When the English author Sir Francis Bacon wrote "The world's a bubble" in 1629, it's a safe bet he wasn't thinking about microfluidics. However, for a research

NMR data showing the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) over time in yeast cells at rest (top) and under oxidative stress (bottom).

New NIST Method Evaluates Response to Oxidation in Live Cells

February 11, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new method for accurately measuring a key process governing a wide

Scanning electron micrograph of Gardnerella vaginalis bacteria

NIST Cell Membrane Model Studied as Future Diagnostic Tool

January 29, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and in Lithuania have used a NIST-developed laboratory model of a simplified cell

NIST Researchers Develop a Novel Approach for the Measurement of a Crucial DNA Repair Enzyme in Human Cells

January 7, 2014

NIST researchers, in collaboration with researchers at the National Institute on Aging, NIH, recently reported a novel approach for identifying and quantifying

NIST, UMD Celebrate 25 Years of Research Partnership at IBBR

October 31, 2012

Officials and researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) gathered on Oct. 25, 2012, to

NIST Announces Program to ID Human Cell Lines for Research

February 7, 2012

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced that it is launching a project to collect and catalog DNA identification data for up to

Photomicrograph showing human lung cells infected with cytomegalovirus.

NIST Standard Available for Better Diagnosis, Treatment of Cytomegalovirus

January 10, 2012

A new clinical Standard Reference Material (SRM) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will help health care professionals more

Zvi Kelman, director of NIST's new Biomolecular Labeling Laboratory, works near the lab's five user stations.

Tags? We're It. NIST Opens New 'Biolabeling' Research Facility

November 22, 2011

With the recent opening of its new Biomolecular Labeling Laboratory, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has become one of a small handful

Advanced communications
-Open Radio Access Network (Open-RAN)
-Quantum communications
-Spectrum sharing
-Wireless (RF)
Bioscience
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-Cell biology
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-Engineering / synthetic biology
-Gene delivery systems
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-Genomics
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-Microbial measurements
-Proteomics
-Sequence screening
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Buildings and Construction
-Building codes and standards
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-Building economics
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-Heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment
-Indoor air quality
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Chemistry
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Electronics
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Energy
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Environment
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Forensic Science
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Health
-Biopharmaceuticals
-Cell and gene therapy
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-Food and nutrition
-Human microbiome
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Information technology
-Artificial intelligence
--AI measurement and evaluation
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--Fundamental AI
--Hardware for AI
--Machine learning
--Trustworthy and responsible AI
-Biometrics
-Cloud computing and virtualization
-Complex systems
-Computational science
-Conformance testing
-Cyber-physical systems
--Smart cities
-Cybersecurity
--Cryptography
--Cybersecurity education and workforce development
--Cybersecurity measurement
--Identity and access management
--Privacy engineering
--Risk management
--Securing emerging technologies
--Trustworthy networks
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-Data and informatics
--Human language technology
--Information retrieval
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-Location based services
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--Mobile and wireless networking
--Network management and monitoring
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Infrastructure
Manufacturing
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-Interoperability in manufacturing
-Machining
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-Manufacturing quality assurance
-Manufacturing systems design and analysis
-Monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics
-Process improvement
-Process measurement and control
-Product data
-Robotics in manufacturing
--Agility and adaptability
--Collaborative robots
--Dexterous grasping
--Manipulation
--Mobility and industrial autonomous vehicles
--Navigation / actuation / control
--Sensing and perception
-Supply chain
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-Systems engineering
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-Technology commercialization
Materials
-Ceramics
-Composites
-Concrete / cement
-Materials characterization
--Composition and structure
--Mechanical properties
--Thermal properties
-Metals
-Modeling and computational material science
-Polymers
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Mathematics and statistics
-Experiment design
-Image and signal processing
-Modeling and simulation research
-Numerical methods and software
-Statistical analysis
-Uncertainty quantification
Metrology
-Amount of substance
-Dimensional metrology
-Electrical / electromagnetic metrology
-Flow metrology and rheology
-Force metrology
-Humidity metrology
-Ionizing radiation metrology
-Mass metrology
-Metric
-Optical / photometry / laser metrology
-Pressure and vacuum metrology
-Thermometry metrology
-Time and frequency metrology
-Weights and measures
Nanotechnology
-Nanobiotechnology
-Nanochemistry
-Nanoelectronics
-Nanofabrication / manufacturing
--Lithography
--Self-assembly
-Nanofluidics
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-Nanomaterials
-Nanomechanics
-Nanometrology
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-Nanophysics
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Neutron research
Performance excellence
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Physics
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-Optical physics and communications
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Public safety
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-First responder preparedness
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Resilience
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Standards
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Transportation
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