On the measurement of consistent long-term retention factor values in micellar liquid chromatography Original Research Article

In the field of the quantitative structure–retention and retention–activity relationships (QRAR and QSRR) is crucial to obtain consistent retention factors (k). For this purpose, two unbiased approaches to estimate k are used: (i) the IUPAC approach (based on the extra-column time correction) and (ii) the ‘2-references’ approach (based on the k estimation respect to two prefixed reference k values). Three reference chemicals were selected attending to their retention time, chemical stability and non-ionic character. Consistent retention factor values for these references were estimated for C18 chromatographic columns and Brij35 solutions as mobile phases after statistical analysis. The comparison between the k values estimated for a set of 65 test chemicals using the IUPAC and the ‘2-references’ approach shows that the last one gives consistent long-term values useful for QRAR and QSRR modelling purposes.