The role of reference materials

In this article the role of reference materials is confined to chemical measurements only. Recognized reference materials are one of the tools to obtain comparability of analytical results. Recognition demands confidence in the reference materials and in the reference material producers. A reference material producer is a technical competent body that is fully responsible for the certified or other property values of the reference material. The analyte has to be specified in relation to the selectivity of analytical procedure. The full range of reference materials can be presented as a three-dimensional space of the coordinates: analyte, matrix and application. If reference materials are used for calibration or correction of calibrations they establish the traceability of results of chemical measurements. The traceability is only valid within a stated range of uncertainty. Pure substances can represent the unit of amount of substance. A precondition is the microscale specification of the analyte and the accurate determination of the main component and/or the impurities.