[Standard material for measurement of hemoglobin A1c]

In Japan, the standardization of measurement of hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c) has been successfully achieved using the standard material(JDS Lot 1, lyophilized, two levels) produced and distributed by the former Shima Committee of the Japan Diabetes Society(JDS). However, methods for measurement of HbA1c other than the HPLC method, for example immunoassay, have been commonly used in the laboratory. Peptide mapping, a candidate method of analytical chemistry for determination of HbA1c, cannot be applied to a lyophilized sample. The present JDS Committee, which continues the work of the Shima Committee, recently certified a deeply-frozen material as the primary standard reference material(five levels) and named it JDS Lot 2. The Lot 2 value of HbA1c is the same as Lot 1, and is different from the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program(NGSP) value by -0.3%. It is likely that the standardization of measurement of HbA1c in the future in Japan will be continued using with JDS Lot 2.