Reference Material Production Laboratory

Meeting the growing demand for reference materials

Reference materials (RMs) enable accurate, standardised, and traceable measurement results in health-related clinical testing, food control, environmental monitoring, and industrial applications. Emerging measurement techniques and innovative applications further increase the need for diverse analyte–matrix combinations.

The state-of-the-art Reference Material Production Laboratory at JRC Geel responds to the growing demand for reference materials (RMs) worldwide by developing and producing high-quality RMs, including certified reference materials (CRMs). These materials are made available to analytical laboratories worldwide to support quality control, calibrate measurements, and help implement EU legislation.

The RMPL features state-of-the art equipment and analytical instrumentation with unique processing capability able to handle complex raw materials and certify challenging matrix CRMs. This makes the JRC one of the leading producers of RMs worldwide, which are offered via an online catalogue.

Competence and accreditation

The RMPL operates at a scale that bridges laboratory- and industrial-level production. The JRC holds ISO 17034 and ISO/IEC 17025 accreditations to cover RM production and the associated analytical measurements, ensuring internationally acceptability and recognition. Under the International Committee for Weights and Measurements (CIPM) Mutual Recognition Arrangement, the RMPL collaborates closely with stakeholders of the metrology community in technical committees and working groups of EURAMET (the European Association of National Metrology Institutes) and the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance: Metrology in Chemistry and Biology (CCQM).  

Set-up of the RMPL

The RMPL comprises two main components: a material-processing facility and several specialised analytical laboratories.

Material-processing facility

In the material-processing facility raw materials are transformed into stable and homogenous individual RM units. The pilot plant layout is highly versatile, with movable partition walls and independent air-handling systems to prevent cross-contamination and allow simultaneous processing of different materials.

Specialised analytical laboratories

These laboratories monitor the effectiveness of the raw material processing and are essential for supporting the characterisation and certification of the RMs.

• Processing‑control laboratory: Performs microscopy, particle size analysis and water content measurements to monitor and adjust processing steps.
• Biochemistry laboratory: Dedicated to clinical samples, it mainly analyses human‑origin material. The laboratory is equipped with liquid chromatography systems with different detectors including high‑resolution mass spectrometry, making it ideally suited for the certification of clinical CRMs used to standardise in‑vitro diagnostic (IVD) assays.
• Small molecule laboratory: Focuses on food and environmental RMs, equipped with chromatographic systems coupled with mass spectrometric detection are employed to quantify contaminants and nutrients, supporting value assignment for RMs used in environmental monitoring and food safety and authenticity compliance.

For DNA and RNA measurements, as well as element quantification, the RMPL accesses measurement instruments available in other JRC laboratories and collaborates with a network of qualified external expert laboratories.