standardsample

A standardsample, commonly referred to as a standard sample or reference material, is a specimen with well-characterized properties used as a reference point in analytical measurements. It provides a known value against which instruments and methods can be calibrated, validated, or checked for accuracy.

Standards are designed to be traceable to recognized authorities; they have documented identity, purity, concentration or composition, uncertainty estimates, and stated storage and stability conditions. They can be categorized as primary standards, which have high purity and are used to establish a calibration, and secondary standards or calibrants, which are traceable to primary standards.

In practice they are used to construct calibration curves in techniques such as chromatography, spectroscopy, and electrochemistry, to verify method performance, and to monitor instrument drift over time. They also appear as certified reference materials in laboratories and as quality-control samples in manufacturing.

Quality control considerations include homogeneity, stability, proper handling, and keeping records such as lot numbers and expiration dates. Suppliers and national metrology institutes provide standards and CRMs with certificates detailing values and uncertainties. Standardsamples are thus essential for measurement comparability and traceability across laboratories and industries.