Reporting data below LOQ but greater than LOD

Basic questions from students; resources for projects and reports.

5 posts Page 1 of 1
The method I am running has a Limit of detection of 2.5 ug/ml and a lower limit of quantification(lowest point of calibration curve) of 10 ug/ml.

For results that are less than 2.5 ug/ml the method says to record the result as ND, for results that are less than 10 ug/ml but greater than 2.5 ug/ml I am supposed to record the result as <1%

If 10 ug/ml converts to 0.001% shouldn't results <10 ug/ml but >2.5 ug/ml be recorded as <0.001%

If someone could explain this it would be much appreciated.
mallory wrote:
The method I am running has a Limit of detection of 2.5 ug/ml and a lower limit of quantification(lowest point of calibration curve) of 10 ug/ml.

For results that are less than 2.5 ug/ml the method says to record the result as ND, for results that are less than 10 ug/ml but greater than 2.5 ug/ml I am supposed to record the result as <1%

If 10 ug/ml converts to 0.001% shouldn't results <10 ug/ml but >2.5 ug/ml be recorded as <0.001%

If someone could explain this it would be much appreciated.


Your arithmetic is correct, probably your method/SOP has a typo. But why anyone would want to convert an explicit mass per volume result into percentage, which could be mass/mass, mass/volume, volume/volume or mole/mole is beyond me.

Peter
Peter Apps
It was explained to me that 10mg/ml is a 1% dilution of our calibration standard which is why we record <1%

This doesn't really make sense to me though, am I missing something?
From the point of view purely of analytical chemistry and all the guidance on how to express results, this makes no sense. But why are you asking us if you are missing something ? - ask the person who explained it. Maybe there is a very convincing in-house reason for it, but out here on the internet we are not going to know anything about that are we ?

Peter
Peter Apps
Peter's right, we'd need to know the local background to this particular choice of reporting.
To my mind, all data should be reported in the same units. If, in this assay, it's understood that a result of 1000ug/mL is reported as "100%", then it would be logical and correct to report a result that's less than 10ug/mL as "<1%".
(The decision to report a particular value as "100%" is going to be very specific to a particular application: If you're measuring the amount of stuff left after some process, and the process always begins with 342ug, then suddenly you have a method where 100% = 342ug).
5 posts Page 1 of 1

Who is online

In total there is 1 user online :: 0 registered, 0 hidden and 1 guest (based on users active over the past 5 minutes)
Most users ever online was 1117 on Mon Jan 31, 2022 2:50 pm

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

Latest Blog Posts from Separation Science

Separation Science offers free learning from the experts covering methods, applications, webinars, eSeminars, videos, tutorials for users of liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, sample preparation and related analytical techniques.

Subscribe to our eNewsletter with daily, weekly or monthly updates: Food & Beverage, Environmental, (Bio)Pharmaceutical, Bioclinical, Liquid Chromatography, Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry.

Liquid Chromatography

Gas Chromatography

Mass Spectrometry