LINEAR CALIBRATION USING A SINGLE CALIBRATION STANDARD AND BAYESIAN METHOD - APPLICATION TO AZIDOTHYMIDINE DETERMINATION

An empirical bayesian method for processing linear calibration data using a single calibration standard is described. An exact solution to the bayesian estimator has been obtained and allowed the calculation of the bayesian estimate of the calibration parameters with no need of any software. The procedure was validated through the determination of bias and precision of azidothymidine liquid chromatographic assay. The error in predicting analyte concentrations using bayesian estimation of the calibration line ranged from -0.3 to -3.1%, and the root-mean-square error ranged from 7.8 to 14.2%. Performances of the familiar least-squares method using six calibration standards were determined, and were very similar to those of the bayesian method. The influence of several experimental errors and violation of the hypothesis upon which the bayesian method lies were also discussed. Thus, the method described in this paper is time-saving and should be most useful when quick results are needed for a small number of samples, as in clinical toxicology.