Role of chromatography in the development of Standard Reference Materials for organic analysis

► Key to independent method for SRM certification is separation science. ► For SRMs, the goal is to maximize the differences in extraction, separation and detection. ► Differences in stationary phase selectivity in LC and GC provide independence. ► SRMs for environmental, food, and dietary supplement analysis are described. The certification of chemical constituents in natural-matrix Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can require the use of two or more independent analytical methods. The independence among the methods is generally achieved by taking advantage of differences in extraction, separation, and detection selectivity. This review describes the development of the independent analytical methods approach at NIST, and its implementation in the measurement of organic constituents such as contaminants in environmental materials, nutrients and marker compounds in food and dietary supplement matrices, and health diagnostic and nutritional assessment markers in human serum. The focus of this review is the important and critical role that separation science techniques play in achieving the necessary independence of the analytical steps in the measurement of trace-level organic constituents in natural matrix SRMs.