Monthly Archives: October 2024

Introduction to pH and importance

Measuring pH is a common laboratory practice and is critical for many industries. Many methods exist that detail the measurement of pH for various sample types including USP <791> for pharmaceutical samples and ISO 10523 & ASTM D1293 for water testing. Measuring pH is also critical during many manufacturing and recycling processes. In fact, many of the manufacturing processes at Inorganic Ventures depend on pH checks to ensure a chemical reaction is complete or a product is ready for the next step in a procedure. Let’s learn more about the pH scale and how important it is to use stable pH buffers to calibrate your pH meter before sample analysis.

Understanding the pH Scale

Formally, the pH value of a substance denotes the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion activity. This is sometimes referred to as the potential, or power, of hydrogen in an aqueous solution. The pH of a solution is expressed o

NIST-traceable standards are reference materials certified to specific values laid out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). They are designed specifically for standardized instrument calibration and quality assurance protocols aimed at eliminating measurement uncertainties. The implication with NIST-traceable standards is that all calibrations are part of an unbroken chain of comparisons from the manufacturer through to the end-user, which is where the term traceability comes from.

Understanding NIST-Traceability

Traceability is a crucial parameter in elemental analysis and wet chemistry applications. When we talk about the traceability of measurements, we are referring to systemic reliability – and subsequently the reliability of your results – relative to an accepted set of standards. This is the basic premise of standardized metrology and the international system of units (SI). Yet the traceability of chemical measurements is

References are a key part of analytical testing. Choosing the right type of reference for your testing procedure is an essential part of process design and achieving the right levels of quality management.

In analytical testing, reference materials are used for calibration, quantification and verification. Using a material with known properties makes it possible to deconvolute the response of the analyte from the response of the instrument. In turn, this results in more accurate measurements of concentration, as well as qualitative measures such as the positions of spectral features for spectroscopic measurements or retention times in chromatography.¹

Types of References 

Inorganic