By Phill on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 09:29 am:
Hi,
I've been asked to find out if the calculated value for k using k = tr - t0/t0 is called the "capacity factor" or the "retention factor". This is not as simple as it seems, as the terms look to be used randomly according to personal preference! I've even found both phrases used in the same document defining k.
Is one of these more "modern" than the other, or can I take my pick?
Look forward to people's thoughts.
By Tom Mizukami on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 12:11 pm:
http://www.iupac.org/goldbook/R05359.pdf
By Anonymous on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 03:04 pm:
Both are understood, but a few years ago, the IUPAC has recommended to use retention factor and has discouraged the use of capacity factor.
By Phill on Tuesday, February 3, 2004 - 01:28 am:
Thank you.
By tom jupille on Tuesday, February 3, 2004 - 04:41 pm:
If you work with pharmaceuticals, though, recognize that the USP hasn't (yet?) changed. There, it's still called "capacity factor" and symbolized k'.
Per the previous post, both are understood.
-- Tom Jupille
By Chris Pohl on Wednesday, February 4, 2004 - 08:06 am:
One additional point to note is that there are previous examples of IUPAC proposing nomenclature changes for chromatography which were later abandoned. For example, 15-20 years ago they proposed changing eluent to eluant. The recommendation didn't stick, however. I'm doubtful that this current recommended change will, either.