Where has my efficiency gone? Impacts of extracolumn peak broadening on performance, part I: Basic concepts

Dispersion (the broadening or spreading) of analyte zones (peaks) outside of chromatography columns can seriously erode the resolution provided by good columns. Understanding the relationship between the level of dispersion associated with a given instrument relative to the intrinsic efficiency of a given column can help avoid disappointing results, especially when switching to new column technologies. In this installment, we focus on basic concepts in extracolumn dispersion as a prelude to future installments that will focus on dispersion in specific elements of HPLC systems.