Agilent Inorganic Certified Reference Materials and Standards

Importance of the Topic

Accurate and traceable reference materials and calibration standards are the cornerstone of reliable analytical measurements. Inorganic certified reference materials (CRMs) and metallo-organic standards support quality control, method validation, and regulatory compliance across spectroscopy and chromatography techniques. By employing ISO 17025 and ISO 17034 accredited materials, laboratories can ensure consistency, purity, and uncertainty estimates for critical applications in environmental monitoring, food safety, pharmaceutical quality assurance, and industrial process control.

Objectives and Overview

This document presents Agilent Technologies’ comprehensive portfolio of inorganic and metallo-organic certified reference materials, calibration standards, and workflow solutions. Key goals include:

• Showcasing single- and multi-element standards for AA, MP-AES, ICP-OES, and ICP-MS
• Detailing agency-method mixes for EPA 200.7, 200.8, 6010/6020, and CLP
• Introducing specialized standards for cannabis heavy metals, biodiesel analysis, and USP/ICH elemental impurities
• Outlining ion-chromatography anion and cation standards

Methodology and Instrumentation

All Agilent standards are manufactured under an ISO 9001 quality management system, with production in an ISO 17034 accredited facility and certification in an ISO/IEC 17025 testing laboratory. Production practices include:

• High-purity raw materials (>99.99%) and ASTM Type I water
• Gravimetric and analytical characterization traceable to NIST SRMs
• Units packaged in an ISO Class 7 clean room with tamper-evident seals

Instrumentation-specific standards support:

• Atomic absorption (AA) and flame/graphite furnace standards
• MP-AES and ICP-OES wavelength, calibration, tuning, and internal standards
• ICP-MS tuning, calibration, and semiquantitative mixes
• Ion chromatography anion/cation standards and mixtures

Main Results and Discussion

Agilent’s portfolio spans over 4,000 products, including:

• Single-element CRMs at 10 µg/mL, 1,000 µg/mL, and 10,000 µg/mL
• Multi-element spectroscopy mixes for environmental and industrial methods
• Metallo-organic oil-based standards for wear-metal and biodiesel analyses
• Cannabis heavy-metal standards compliant with emerging regulations
• USP/ICH 232 and Q3D oral and parenteral elemental impurity kits
• Agency-method kits for EPA, CLP, and Ph. Eur. workflows

Equivalency studies confirm analytical performance against OEM standards, demonstrating matched response and clean background in ICP-OES and ICP-MS analyses.

Benefits and Practical Applications

Laboratories benefit from Agilent standards through:

• Improved data quality and metrological traceability
• Streamlined method development and instrument calibration
• Reduced preparation time with ready-to-use kits
• Enhanced regulatory compliance across multiple industries

Applications include environmental water testing, QC validation in pharmaceutical production, petrochemical wear-metal monitoring, biodiesel sulfur analysis, and cannabis heavy-metal screening.

Future Trends and Opportunities

The demand for custom and application-specific reference materials continues to grow. Future developments may include:

• Expanded CRMs for emerging contaminants and novel matrices
• Integration of digital certificates and uncertainty dashboards
• Advanced stability-indicating standards for long-term sample archiving
• Automation-compatible kits for high-throughput laboratories

Conclusion

Agilent’s comprehensive portfolio of certified inorganic and metallo-organic standards empowers laboratories to achieve reliable, traceable, and efficient analytical workflows. Accredited production, rigorous testing, and validated equivalency ensure that customers can confidently meet regulatory requirements and advance scientific research.

Reference

• Salit, M.; Sander, L. C.; Miller, M. S.; et al. “High-Performance Spectroscopy Protocol for NIST SRM Certification.” Analytical Chemistry 2001, 73, 4821–4829.