Limit of detection

{
  "id": "MLC-T-CHM-013236",
  "term": "Limit of detection",
  "field": "Chemistry",
  "definition": "The lowest quantity or concentration of a substance that can be reliably distinguished from the absence of that substance (a blank value) within a specified confidence level. It is the smallest signal that is statistically different from the background noise of the analytical instrument and method. The limit of detection is frequently calculated as the mean of the blank measurements plus three times the standard deviation of the blank.",
  "subject": "Analytical Chemistry",
  "see_also": [
    "confidence level",
    "standard deviation"
  ],
  "references": [
    "Orange Book, 2nd ed., p. 5 (https://media.iupac.org/publications/analytical_compendium/)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/chemistry/limit-of-detection/"
}