An approach for measuring peak area of an overlapped peak pair

Summary Based on the exponentially modified Gaussian (EMG) function, a new approach is presented for the quantitation of a partially overlapped peak pair. This approach can be employed in a wide range of peak area ratio and asymmetry, provided that the relative valley between the two peaks is not greater than 55%. The first peak area is calculated by the use of the ratio of the front half-width at height fraction 0.1 to that at heigt fraction 0.5. The second peak area is calculated by subtracing the first peak area from the total area which is provided by a microprocessor-based integrator. The relative error for the first peak never exceeds ±5%, but this is not always the case for the second peak. The relative error for the second peak depends not only on the accuracy of the total area and that of the first peak area but on area ratio as well.