Using Mass Spectrometry to Provide Accurate Chemical and Bio-Measurements

As the UK’s designated National Measurement Institute (NMI) for chemical and bio-measurements, LGC has a major role to play in helping to improve the accuracy and reliability of chemical and bio-analytical measurements that are important to the UK’s industrial competitiveness and quality of life.

LGC’s measurement science is recognised throughout the world and many of our experts represent UK metrology interests through European and international organisations.

The UK National Measurement System (NMS) is responsible for stimulating good measurement practice and enabling business to make accurate and traceable measurements. The NMS is funded by the National Measurement Office (NMO), an Executive Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The Knowledge Base programmes of the NMS contain projects that use and develop the extensive existing capability and facilities of the UK NMIs. LGC is a lead contractor for one of these programmes; Chemical &

Biological Metrology [1]. A key aim of the programme is to provide the technical and organisational infrastructure that helps ensure that measurements made in the UK are valid and comparable with those made in other countries. LGC’s activities in the Chemical and Biological Metrology programme focus on the following areas:

• Bioanalysis (e.g. biopharmaceutical manufacture, drug discovery, diagnostics, medical devices, biometrology);

• Inorganic and Speciation Analysis (e.g. detection of counterfeit goods and tracing a sample to its origin, selenium speciation to support food supplements and anti-cancer therapy);

• Organic Analysis (e.g. use of mass spectrometry for the high accuracy determination of trace organic compounds such as clinical environmental toxins); and

• Reference Materials (e.g. sustaining and developing the capability needed to produce high quality certified reference materials).