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Statistical estimation of the minimal detectable concentration (sensitivity) for radioligand assays

Journal Article · · Anal. Biochem.; (United States)
A method is presented for calculation of the minimal detectable dose (MDD) or minimal detectable concentration (MDC) for a radioimmunoassay or related radioligand assay (e.g., immunoradiometric assays, ''sandwich'' assays, etc.). It is necessary to consider the uncertainty in the estimate of the ''true'' response for zero dose as well as the error in the mean response for replicates of an ''unknown'' sample. The MDC decreases as the degree of replication for the unknown increases, approaching a nonzero finite lower limit as the number of replicates for the unknown gets large. ''Pooling'' of information about the variability of response at zero dose results in improved utilization of data, with increased degrees of freedom and smaller MDC. A one-tailed, rather than two-tailed, Student's t statistic should be used. The considerations reviewed here should be applicable irrespective of the nature of the dose-response curve or the particular model used for curve fitting.
Research Organization:
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
OSTI ID:
6421443
Journal Information:
Anal. Biochem.; (United States), Journal Name: Anal. Biochem.; (United States) Vol. 90:1; ISSN ANBCA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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