Novel Strategy for Finding the Optimal Parameters of Ion Selective Electrodes

Abstract

The detection limit (DL) of an analytical method determines the range of its applicability. For ion selective electrodes (ISE) used in potentiometric measurements, this parameter can vary by several orders of magnitude depending on the inner solution concentrations or the time of measurement. The detection limit of ISE can be predicted using the Nernst-Planck-Poisson model (NPP), as a general approach to the description of the time-dependent electro-diffusion processes. To find the optimal parameters, we need to formulate the inverse electro-diffusion problem. In this work, we combine the Nernst-Planck-Poisson model with the Hierarchical Genetic Strategy with real number encoding (HGS-FP). We use the HGS-FP method to approximate inner solution concentrations as well as the measuring time that provide a linear dependence of the membrane potential over the widest concentration range. We show that the HGS-FP method allows us to find the solution of the inverse problem. The presented calculations show a great future potential of the NPP method combined with the HGS-FP strategy.