About NIST SRMs |
What is an SRM?
SRM is an abbreviation for a Standard Reference Material available from the National Institute of Technology (NIST), a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce's Technology Administration. The NIST supports accurate and compatible measurements by certifying and providing over 1300 SRMs with well-characterized composition or properties, or both. These materials are used to perform instrument calibrations in units as part of overall quality assurance programs, to verify the accuracy of specific measurements and to support the development of new measurement methods.
The NIST defines an NIST Standard Reference Material® (SRM) as "A Certified Reference Material issued by NIST that also meets additional NIST-specific certification criteria and is issued with a certificate or certificate of analysis that reports the results of its characterizations and provides information regarding the appropriate use(s) of the material (NIST SP 260-136). Note: An SRM is prepared and used for three main purposes: (1) to help develop accurate methods of analysis; (2) to calibrate measurement systems used to facilitate exchange of goods, institute quality control, determine performance characteristics, or measure a property at the state-of-the-art limit; and (3) to ensure the long-term adequacy and integrity of measurement quality assurance programs."
MilliporeSigma uses SRMs to ensure traceability for such things as calibration of instruments and verification of buffer products. You will see, for instance, references to the SRMs MilliporeSigma has used to test buffers on the Certificate of Analysis so the end user can trace the buffer's accuracy back to the SRM.
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