A new milestone on the road to global standardization of apolipoprotein measurements.

Accordingly, efforts by IFCC to develop a new Primary Reference Measurement System with a mass spectroscopy-based primary reference method and serum-based reference materials are well underway and will allow true SI-traceable standardization of apolipoproteins [[3]]. To declare a particular method as standardized, a clinical laboratory or IVD manufacturer must demonstrate adequate agreement between their measurement and a consensus reference method and/or consensus reference material to establish metrological traceability of results. In this issue of I Clin Chem Lab Med i , the study by Smit et al. [[1]] from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC, The Netherlands) highlights the importance of a standardized preanalytical phase for accurate mass spectrometry applications in clinical chemistry. [Extracted from the article]