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Metrology

Amount of substance

News and Updates

schematic of sound-wave transmitter and receiver

Sounding Out a New Way to Measure Gas Flow

Researchers at NIST have developed a new — and sound — way to accurately measure the rate at which gas flows in and out of a vessel. The technique, which uses

Blog Posts

George Caceres wears safety glasses and a lab coat as he looks at a plastic test tube he is holding.

Measuring Microplastics: To Solve the Problem, We Have to Understand and Measure It

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View from the back of a darkened movie theater shows the heads of the audience and a screen reading: Measurement in the Movies.

Measurement in the Movies

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Title card reads "A Scientific Christmas Tale" with the NIST logo in a wreath and flashing holiday lights.

A Scientific Christmas Tale

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Events

Projects and Programs

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
Cannabis

NIST Tools for Cannabis Laboratory Quality Assurance

Ongoing
Since the 1970s, cannabis (marijuana and hemp) and its constituent, Δ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, have been classified as Schedule I controlled substances. Seized evidence is tested by forensic laboratories, which verify the identity of the plant through macro- and microscopic evaluation and the
The inside of a DNA extraction robot hold tube in a rack

Forensic Genetics

Ongoing
Since the late 1980s, NIST has had scientists involved in DNA testing (aka "DNA Fingerprinting"). Early concerns over measurement accuracy and poor quality control of forensic DNA tests caused the Department of Justice to call upon NIST scientists to help with standards development and technology

Ambient and Atmospheric Pressure Mass Spectrometry

Ongoing
Surface and Trace Chemical Analysis Group employs a range of commercial pneumatically-assisted electrospray ionization (ESI), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), and atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) sources for traditional mass spectrometric chemical analysis, identification

Publications

NIST Special Publication 260 NIST.SP.260-256 Certification of Standard Reference Material®s 3672a & 3673a: Organic Contaminants in Smokers' Urine (Frozen) & Organic Contaminants in Non-Smokers' Urine (Frozen)

Author(s)
Ashley Russell, Carolyn Burdette, Johanna Camara, Nathanael Heckert, Jennifer Hoguet, Kevin Huncik, Jared Ragland, Elena Wood
Standard Reference Material (SRM) 3672a Organic Contaminants in Smokers' Urine (Frozen) and SRM 3673a Organic Contaminants in Non-Smokers' Urine (Frozen) are

Certification of Standard Reference Material® 956e Electrolytes in Frozen Human Serum

Author(s)
Lee Yu, Steven Christopher, Regina Easley, Monique Johnson, Dennis Leber, Thomas Vetter, Jason Waters, Charles Barber, Karen Murphy, Laura Wood, Stephen Chin, Murli Narayan, Alexander Rhodes, Michael Nash
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standard Reference Material® (SRM®) 956e Electrolytes in Frozen Human Serum is intended for use in the

CCQM-P199b: Interlaboratory comparability study of SARS-CoV-2 RNA copy number quantification

Author(s)
Alison Devonshire, Eloise Busby, Gerwyn Jones, Denise O'Sullivan, Ana Fernandez-Gonzalez, Laura Hernandez-Hernandez, Xinhua Dai, Lianhua Dong, Chunyan Niu, Jie Xie, Xia Wang, Xiaoting Qiao, Xiang Fang, Clare Morris, Neil Almond, Megan Cleveland, Peter Vallone, Esther Castro Galván, Melina Pérez Urquiza, Mercedes Guadalupe Herrera López, Arifa Khan, Sandra Fuentes, Elsa Baumeister, John Emerson Leguizamon Guerrero, Sergio Luis Davila Gonzalez, Andres Felipe León Torres, Aurea Folgueras-Flatschart, Marcelo Neves de Medeiros, Antonio Marcos Saraiva, Roberto Becht Flatschart, Carla Divieto, Mattia Pegoraro, Massimo Zucco, Laura Revel, Marco Mazzara, Philippe Corbisier, Gerhard Buttinger, Young-Kyung Bae, Alexandra Bogožalec Košir, Mojca Milavec, Malcolm Hawkins, A. Pia Sanzone, Phattarapornn Morris, Sasithon Temisak, David Lynch, Jacob McLaughlin, Michael Forbes-Smith, Felicity Hall, Daniel Burke, Sachie Shibayama, Shin-ichiro Fujii, Megumi Kato, Samreen Falak, Rainer Macdonald, Andreas Kummrow, Andrey Komissarov, Sema Akyurek, Muslum Akgoz, Maxim Vonsky, Andrey Runov, Elena Kulyabina, Denis Rebrikov, Jim Huggett
RNA is the analyte targeted by nucleic acid amplification tests for SARS-CoV-2 virus, the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. RNA concentration measured

Tools and Instruments