Development of gold standard ion-selective electrode-based methods for fluoride analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Currently available techniques for fluoride analysis are not standardized. Therefore, this study was designed to develop standardized methods for analyzing fluoride in biological and nonbiological samples used for dental research. METHODS A group of nine laboratories analyzed a set of standardized samples for fluoride concentration using their own methods. The group then reviewed existing analytical techniques for fluoride analysis, identified inconsistencies in the use of these techniques and conducted testing to resolve differences. Based on the results of the testing undertaken to define the best approaches for the analysis, the group developed recommendations for direct and microdiffusion methods using the fluoride ion-selective electrode. RESULTS Initial results demonstrated that there was no consensus regarding the choice of analytical techniques for different types of samples. Although for several types of samples, the results of the fluoride analyses were similar among some laboratories, greater differences were observed for saliva, food and beverage samples. In spite of these initial differences, precise and true values of fluoride concentration, as well as smaller differences between laboratories, were obtained once the standardized methodologies were used. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.90 to 0.93, for the analysis of a certified reference material, using the standardized methodologies. CONCLUSION The results of this study demonstrate that the development and use of standardized protocols for F analysis significantly decreased differences among laboratories and resulted in more precise and true values.