Instrumental set-up as a factor influencing the variability of retention index values in high pressure liquid chromatography.

The influence of different laboratory set-ups on HPLC retention index values of selected acidic and basic drugs was investigated. The RI values of drugs were calculated using the alkyrarylketone scale. Two columns filled with different batches of the same Hypersil ODS phase were consecutively used in two laboratories under identical conditions, but using different instrumentation. The study showed that the different laboratory set-ups influence the precision of RI values, and the differences in column filling affect the accuracy.