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Methodologies for the practical determination and use of method detection limits

  • Radioanalytical Methods: Data Quality, Method Validation and Use of Standard Reference Materials
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Abstract

Method detection limits have often been misunderstood and misused. The basic definitions developed by Lloyd Currie and others have been combined with assumptions that are inappropriate for many types of radiochemical analyses. A practical way for determining detection limits based on Currie's basic definition is presented that removes the reliance on assumptions and that accounts for the total measurement uncertainty. Examples of proper and improper use of detection limits are also presented, including detection limits reported by commercial software for gamma spectroscopy and neutron activation analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science Applications International Corporation, P. O. Box 2501, 37831, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

    T. L. Rucker

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  1. T. L. Rucker
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Rucker, T.L. Methodologies for the practical determination and use of method detection limits. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Articles 192, 345–350 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02041739

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02041739

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