Understanding Limit of Detection (LOD) in Pharmaceutical Analysis

LOD (Limit of Detection):

The LOD is the lowest amount of analyte in a sample that can be detected but not necessarily accurately quantitated. It is typically determined by spiking a blank sample with known amounts of analyte and measuring the response. The LOD is defined as the concentration at which the signal-to-noise ratio is 3:1.

LOD is an important parameter in analytical chemistry as it determines the sensitivity of an analytical method. The lower the LOD, the more sensitive the method. LOD is typically expressed in units of concentration, such as parts per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb), or parts per trillion (ppt).