Some experiences in the estimation of parameters in non-linear differential equations

The author describes a procedure developed by himself and his colleagues for obtaining estimates of the parameters of rate equations, together with information about confidence regions for the estimates. The program has been used successfully for processing results from the chemical engineering industry, with highly non-linear model systems, particularly since temperature was a variable, and the "rate constants" were non-linear combinations of other constants. In biochemical situations, in which investigations are almost always at constant temperature, the non-linearity should not be so extreme, and the procedure may well be capable of dealing with more than 5 to 7 parameters for which it is recommended.