EasyBound—a user-friendly approach to nonlinear regression analysis of binding data

Abstract

The introduction of non-linear regression analysis of data from pharmacological experiments has provided an enormous advantage in making it possible to analyze raw data without any mathematical transformation. However, the disadvantage has been the lack of computer programs with simple user interfaces and the ability to easily handle large amounts of data. With the aim to develop a light-weight and still powerful program we have written an application called EasyBound which is designed to be used with Microsoft Excel and hence takes advantage of the abilities of the spreadsheet application to handle large amounts of data. Focus has been on creating an easy-to-understand user interface. There are commercial programs available, but they tend to be very complex and difficult to grasp for inexperienced users. EasyBound displays original data, calculated results and graphs on the same sheet/page. The program fully implements the most powerful algorithms for non-linear regression analysis, giving results that are more accurate than using built-in iterative analysis functions of the spreadsheet application without compromising ease of use.