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The Brazilian National Metrology Institute produced a suite of certified reference materials (CRMs) intended as internal standards (ISs) for quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR). Being a ratio primary method, the use of qNMR in organic chemistry has already crossed the borders of research laboratories, despite the cost of instrumentation. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) proposed eight potential qNMR ISs. Four candidate materials were selected for their solubility in various solvents and distinct chemical shifts, making them suitable for qNMR analysis of diverse analytes. The certification process compared orthogonal primary methods such as mass balance, qNMR, freezing-point depression, and coulometry, to ensure independent value assignment. Different approaches were compared to assess batch homogeneity and stability. While directly comparing the main compound's chromatographic area proved to be a quick and fit-for-purpose approach, the determination of individual impurities provided lower uncertainties but required more laborious work. CRM batches of maleic acid, dimethyl sulfone, potassium hydrogen phthalate, and dimethyl terephthalate were delivered with over 999.8 mg g -1 purity and uncertainty in the range of 0.6 to 3 mg g -1 (k = 2). The literature shows certification procedures for qNMR ISs whose traceability chain is exclusively based on qNMR measurements. As opposed to that, the methodology presented here provides robust certified values assigned by methods independent of qNMR, in accordance with BIPM recommendations and less prone to qNMR biases. The CRMs developed in this work have already been used for SI-traceable purity evaluation of compounds such as drugs and pesticides, by laboratories in Brazil and abroad., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.)

Comparability of measurement results and their metrological traceability to the International System of Units (SI) are fundamental tools to ensure reliable decisions in the social sphere, commerce, and science. The use of appropriate references in analytical chemistry, such as certified reference materials (CRMs) of high purity substances, is one of the required procedures to obtain traceable measurements. When commercial standards with non-certified purity values are used, traceability must be achieved by determining the purity of the standard using a potential primary reference measurement procedure or other appropriate methods. Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) is a technique with the potential to be used in primary measurement procedures. This work presents the determination of purity by 1 H qNMR for nitrofuran metabolites 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ), 3-amino-5-morpholinomethyl-2-oxazolidinone (AMOZ), and 1-aminohydantoin (AHD). Furthermore, a recent qNMR method developed by our group to improve the quantitative performance of measurements using 13 C nucleus was used to determine the purity of semicarbazide (SEM) nitrofuran metabolite. Purity values obtained by qNMR for AOZ, AMOZ, and AHD standards were compared to values obtained by the mass balance approach using a suite of analytical methods: Karl Fischer (KF) coulometric titration and thermogravimetry (TG) for the determination of water and residual solvents, gas and liquid chromatography for the determination of impurities structurally related to the metabolites. The results obtained by qNMR and mass balance were consistent.Graphical abstract.