Ion Chromatography

Certified Reference Materials for Demanding Ion Chromatography Applications
Today, ion chromatography (IC) is an important technique within the analytical laboratory. It is used for the aqueous determination of ions down to the ppt range, being one of the best methods that can provide quantitative analysis of ions at this level. Moreover, the development of modern IC apparatus and columns makes this technique a fast, uncomplicated and reliable tool.

The quality of IC standards had to be improved to keep up with the advances in the available hardware. The selection of appropriate standards for the calibration and quality control of an IC system is important. Sigma-Aldrich offers a wide range of certified reference materials for IC, starting from single-ion standards to multi-ion standards. These standards are frequently used by the Environmental, Food and Beverage industries. However, other industries like Pharmaceutical or Semiconductor, may need to work with even higher qualifications and certified standards to comply with GMP.

This trend is furthermore reinforced by official regulations of the European Community within the guideline 96/23/EG on the use of certified reference materials (CRM): … In paragraph 3.1.1.2., the determination of trueness (one component of accuracy) is described: trueness can only be established by means of CRM's. A CRM should be used whenever available… . The American FDA (Food and Drug Administration) demands in their Inspection Guide for analytic methods the usage of reference standards. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) has published more than 6 papers about certified reference materials.

Certified Standard Solutions (TraceCERT^®)
TraceCERT^® certified reference materials are produced under double-accreditation, fulfilling both ISO/IEC 17025 (General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and ISO Guide 34 (General Requirements for the Competence of Reference Material Producers). Information about certified content including measurement uncertainty, traceability and expiry date are stated in the certificate. In most cases relevant impurities are stated for the inorganic single-ion standards.

PRIMUS – Primary Multi-ion Standards
The number of multi-ion CRM available was still small when Sigma-Aldrich launched the PRIMUS standards in 2003. The development was carried out in collaboration with EMPA (former national metrological institute in chemical metrology), located in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
EMPA determined the exact content of the starting materials based on high-purity salts. The contents of these primary materials were determined by two independent methods for each salt. The analyses were done in collaboration with the German metrological institute BAM.
The primary starting materials are diluted with high-purity water using high precision weighing and adequate cleanroom environment to multi-ion standards with concentrations of 10 mg/kg each. Only when sophisticated production procedures are applied it is possible to get expanded uncertainties of 0.2% relative.

To ensure the quality of the PRIMUS standards, each bottle is sealed in an aluminum bag to minimize the loss of solvent and to keep the concentration stable over years. A printed certificate is provided with each product including a detailed certification report regarding the characterization of the starting materials by EMPA and BAM, traceability of certified contents, evaluation of the measurement uncertainties and expiry date.

Did you know that ...
... each new Metrohm IC apparatus contains a pack of our PRIMUS multi-cation or multi-anion standards?
... Metrohm highly recommends the use of PRIMUS standards for the calibration and validation of their instruments?

50 mL HDPE bottle

Cat. No.	Product Name	Ions	Produced from	Example Certificate
89316	Multielement Ion Chromatography Cation Standard Solution, certified	10 mg/kg each: Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca	Li2CO3, NaCl, KCl, MgO, CaCO3 in diluted HCl
89886	Multielement Ion Chromatography Anion Standard Solution, certified	10 mg/kg each: F-, Cl-, Br-, NO3-, PO43-, SO42-	NaF, NaCl, NaBr, NaNO3, Na2SO4, Na2HPO4 in water
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Multi-ion Standards
100 mL HDPE bottle (2 L for MARGA)

Cat. No.	Product Name	Ions	Composition	Example Certificate
69734	Multi Anion Standard 1 for IC	3 mg/L: F- 10 mg/L: Cl-  20 mg/L: Br-, NO3-, SO42- 30 mg/L: PO43-	NaBr, NaCl, NaF, NaNO3, Na2HPO3, Na2SO4 in water
53798	Multi Anion Standard 2 for IC	1000 mg/L each: F-, Cl-, Br-	NaF, NaCl, NaBr in water
55698	Multi Anion Standard 3 for IC	1000 mg/L each: NO3-, PO43-, SO42-	NaNO3, Na2HPO3, Na2SO4 in water
80124	Anion Calibration Standard for MARGA (Metrohm Air Monitoring Instrument)	0.25 mg/L each: Br-, Cl-, NO3-, NO2-, SO42-	NaBr, NaCl, NaF, NaNO3, NaNO2, Na2SO4 in water
91286	Multi Cation Standard 1 for IC	50 mg/L: Li 200 mg/L: Na, K, Mg 400 mg/L: NH4+ 1000 mg/L: Ca	Li2CO3, NaNO3, KNO3, Mg metal, CaCO3, NH4Cl in ≤0.1% HNO3
93159	Multi Cation Standard 2 for IC	100 mg/L each: Ba, Ca, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, NH4+, Sr	NH4Cl, BaCO3, CaCO3, Li2CO3, Mg metal, Mn metal, KNO3, NaNO3, Sr(NO3)2 in ≤0.1% HNO3
73638	Cation Calibration Standard for MARGA (Metrohm Air Monitoring Instrument)	0.25 mg/L each: NH4+, Ca, Li, Mg, K, Na	NH4Cl, CaCO3, Li2CO3, Mg metal, KNO3, NaNO3 in ≤0.1% HNO3
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Inorganic Anion Standards
1000 mg/L if not otherwise stated, 100 mL HDPE bottle

Cat. No.	Product Name	Composition	Example Certificate
78476	Bromate Standard for IC	KBrO3 in water
43147	Bromide Standard for IC	NaBr in water
73166	Chlorate Standard for IC	KClO3 in water
39883	Chloride Standard for IC	NaCl in water
06740	Chloride Standard for IC (10’000 mg/L)	NaCl in water
40121	Chromate Standard for IC	KCrO4 in water
90157	Cyanide Standard for IC	K2Zn(CN)4 in water/KOH
77365	Fluoride Standard for IC	NaF in water
41271	Iodide Standard for IC	KI in water
53638	Nitrate Nitrogen Standard for IC	NaNO3 in water
74246	Nitrate Standard for IC	NaNO3 in water
36427	Nitrite Nitrogen Standard for IC	NaNO2 in water/NaOH (pH ~11)
67276	Nitrite Standard for IC	NaNO2 in water/NaOH (pH ~11)
76462	Perchlorate Standard for IC	HClO4 in water
95924	Phosphate Phosphorous Standard for IC	Na2HPO4 in water
38364	Phosphate Standard for IC	Na2HPO4 in water
18895	Silicate Standard for IC	Na2O3Si • 9H2O in water
75306	Sulfate Sulfur Standard for IC	Na2SO4 in water
90071	Sulfate Standard for IC	Na2SO4 in water
79735	Sulfate Standard for IC (10’000 mg/L)	Na2SO4 in water
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Inorganic Cation Standards
1000 mg/L, 100 mL HDPE bottles

Cat. No.	Product Name	Composition	Example Certificate
89503	Ammonium Nitrogen Standard for IC	NH4Cl in water
59755	Ammonium Standard for IC	NH4Cl in water
87142	Barium Standard for IC	BaCO3 in ≤0.1% HNO3
69679	Cadmium Standard for IC	Cd metal in ≤0.1% HNO3
39865	Calcium Standard for IC	CaCO3 in ≤0.1% HNO3
49594	Cobalt Standard for IC	Co metal in ≤0.1% HNO3
40786	Copper Standard for IC	Cu metal in ≤0.1% HNO3
51777	Lead Standard for IC	Pb(NO3)2 in ≤0.1% HNO3
59878	Lithium Standard for IC	Li2CO3 in ≤0.1% HNO3
89441	Magnesium Standard for IC	Mg metal in ≤0.1% HNO3
51439	Manganese Standard for IC	Mn metal in ≤0.1% HNO3
42637	Nickel Standard for IC	Ni metal in ≤0.1% HNO3
53337	Potassium Standard for IC	KNO3 in water
43492	Sodium Standard for IC	NaNO3 in water
42151	Strontium Standard for IC	Sr(NO3)2 in ≤0.1% HNO3
67902	Zinc Standard for IC	Zn metal in ≤0.1% HNO3
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Organic Anion Standards
1000 mg/L, 100 mL HDPE bottle

Cat. No.	Product Name	Composition	Example Certificate
51791	Acetate Standard for IC	CH3CO2H and NaOH in water
40968	Adipate Standard for IC	HOOC(CH2)4COOH  in water
40497	Benzoate Standard for IC	C7H6O2 in water
08089	Butyrate Standard for IC	CH3CH2CH2COONa in water
96068	Citrate Standard for IC	HOC(COOH)(CH2COOH)2 in water
44293	Formate Standard for IC	(HCOO)2Ca in water
74549	Gluconate Standard for IC	C6H11NaO7 in water
07438	Glutarate Standard for IC	HOOC(CH2)3COOH in water
07391	Glycolate Standard for IC	HOCH2COOH in water
07096	Lactate Standard for IC	[CH3CH(OH)COO]2Mg · xH2O in water
06994	Malate Standard for IC	HO2CCH2CH(OH)CO2H in water
06908	Maleate Standard for IC	HO2CCH=CHCO2H in water
42412	Malonate Standard for IC	CH2(COOH)2 in water
42735	Methansulfonate Standard for IC	CH3SO3H in water
73139	Oxalate Standard for IC	NaOOCCOONa in water
90677	Phthalate Standard for IC	HOOCC6H4COOK in water
51716	Propionate Standard for IC	CH3CH2COONa in water
43057	Succinate Standard for IC	HOOCCH2CH2COOH in water
43484	Tartrate Standard for IC	HO2CCH(OH)CH(OH)CO2H in water
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Carbohydrate and Sugar Alkohol Standards
1000 mg/L, 50 mL HDPE bottle

Cat. No.	Product Name	Composition	Example Certificate
69222	Glucose Standard for IC	C6H12O6 in water
72669	Fructose Standard for IC	C6H12O6 in water
72622	Lactose Standard for IC	C12H22O11 in water
69631	Sucrose Standard for IC	C12H22O11 in water
72637	Galactose Standard for IC	C6H12O6 in water
69755	Sorbitol Standard for IC	C6H14O6 in water
69714	Mannitol Standard for IC	C6H14O6 in water
72619	Glycerol Standard for IC	HOCH2CH(OH)CH2OH in water
72561	Xylitol Standard for IC	HOCH2[CH(OH)]3CH2OH in water
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Certified Eluent Concentrates
The certified eluent concentrates for ion chromatography are traceable by potentiometric titration to NIST Standard Reference Materials and certified in accordance with ISO Guide 31. All details about exact content, uncertainty, traceability and expiry date are described in the certificate.

Single Concentrates

Cat. No.	Product Name	Concentration, Pack Size	Composition	Example Certificate
50972	2,6-Pyridinedicarboxylic acid concentrate	20 mM, 1 L	C7H5NO4 in water
50433	DL-Tartaric acid concentrate	100 mM, 1 L	HOOC(CHOH)2COOH in water	-
55517	Methanesulfonic acid concentrate	100 mM, 1 L	CH3SO3H (99%) in water
16355	Nitric acid concentrate	100 mM, 1 L	HNO3 in water
68487	Oxalic acid concentrate	100 mM, 1 L	HOOCCOOH  in water
50439	Perchloric acid concentrate	10 mM, 1 L	HClO4 in water
61699	Potassium hydroxide concentrate	100 mM, 1 L	KOH in water
36486	Sodium bicarbonate concentrate	100 mM, 1 L	NaHCO3 in water
72784	Sodium carbonate concentrate1	72 mM, 1 L, 2.5 L	Na2CO3  in water
56169	Sodium carbonate concentrate	100 mM, 1 L	Na2CO3  in water
43617	Sodium hydroxide concentrate	100 mM, 1 L	NaOH in water
72064	Sodium hydroxide solution	50-52%, 500 mL	NaOH in water	2
68279	Sulfuric acid concentrate	100 mM, 1 L	H2SO4 in water
86854	Tetrabutylammonium hydroxide solution	~40%, 100 mL, 500 mL, 2.5 L	(CH3CH2CH2CH2)4N(OH) in water	2
120-fold concentration for Metrohm’s Metrosep A Supp 7 column 2standard CoA available			Back to Top

Binary Concentrates
In an effort to expand the selection of well-characterized eluent concentrates, a novel group of binary concentrates (20-fold concentration) was introduced. The key features are

• Application tested using Metrohm’s Metrosep columns
• Certificate according to ISO Guide 31
• High-purity starting materials
• All details about the exact content, specifications, and expiry date are described in the certificate
• Packaging: 1 L and 2.5 L HDPE bottles with 45 mm screw thread

Cat. No.	Product Name	Concentration	Application	Example Certificate
78737	Nitric acid/Rubidium nitrate concentrate	100 mM HNO3 in H2O, 1000 μg/L Rb in H2O (from RbNO3 salt)	Metrosep C Supp 1 & 2
78348	Sodium acetate/Sodium hydroxide eluent	10 mM CH3COONa in H2O, 100 mM NaOH in H2O	Metrosep Carb 2
78698	Sodium bicarbonate/Sodium carbonate regenerant	Na2CO3 70 mM and NaHCO3 70 mM in water	Suppressor regenerant
61905	Nitric acid/Dipicolinic acid concentrate	14 mM C7H5NO4 and 34 mM HNO3	Metrosep C 4
62414	Sodium bicarbonate/Sodium carbonate concentrate	64 mM Na2CO3 and 20 mM NaHCO3	Metrosep A Supp 5
75335	Sodium bicarbonate/Sodium carbonate concentrate	100 mM Na2CO3 and 100 mM NaHCO3	Metrosep A Supp 10
38302	Sodium carbonate/Sodium hydroxide concentrate	150 mM Na2CO3 and 15 mM NaOH	Metrosep A Supp 16	-
19399*	Nitric acid/Dipicolinic acid concentrate	17 mM HNO3 and 17 mM C7H5NO4	Metrosep C 6
69523	Sodium bicarbonate/Sodium carbonate concentrate	36 mM Na2CO3 and 34 mM NaHCO3	Metrosep A Supp 4
* 10-fold concentration				Back to Top

Water
Sigma-Aldrich has developed a water quality especially for the needs of ion chromatography. This water is also suitable for trace analysis of anions, cations and also some organics which are usually analyzed by IC. The product is delivered in HDPE bottles with 45 mm thread.

Qualification Kit
The kit is intended for testing detection linearity, injector precision and injector carry-over. The 50 mg/kg standard is used for repeatability tests (injector precision) and the maximum carry-over during injection is verified with the 1000 mg/kg standard. The standards 5 to 100 mg/kg are used to prove the detector linearity. It is a special advantage that the certified bromide standards (produced in a double accredited laboratory fulfilling ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO Guide 34) can be used for conductivity, UV/Vis and electrochemical detectors.

Cat. No.	Product Name	Composition	Example Certificate
12674	IQ/OQ/PQ Kit for Ion Chromatography	Six bromide standards with nominal concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 mg/kg, produced from high-purity NaBr and water
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Custom Standard Solutions
If you cannot find the standard you need in our portfolio, you can request a quotation for customized standard solutions for IC using our online custom standards platform.