Usefulness of a ruggedness test in the validation of flow injection analysis systems

The usefulness of a ruggedness test to evaluate the influence of small variations in the parameters fixed in the assemblage of a flow injection analysis (FIA) system on its response is presented. The purpose of the tested system was the determination of calcium in water with increased sensitivity by differential potentiometry involving two identical calcium ion selective electrodes. Youden and Steiner's ruggedness test was found to be a useful technique to ascertain that the optimized system worked properly. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.