Simultaneous quantitative analysis of overlapping spectrophotometric signals using wavelet multiresolution analysis and partial least squares.

The mathematical bases and program algorithms of discrete wavelet transform (DWT), multiresolution and Mallat's pyramid algorithm were described. The multiresolution analysis (MRA) based on Daubechies orthogonal wavelet basis was studied as a tool for removing noise and irrelevant information from spectrophotometric spectra. After wavelet MRA pre-treatment, eight error functions were calculated for deducing the number of factors. A partial least squares based on wavelet MRA (WPLS) method was developed to perform simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of Fe(II) and Fe(III) with overlapping peaks. Data reduction was performed using wavelet MRA and principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm. Two programs, SPWMRA and SPWPLS, were designed to perform wavelet MRA and simultaneous multicomponent determination. Experimental results showed the WPLS method to be successful even where there was severe overlap of spectra.