RETENTION BEHAVIOR OF VOLATILE COMPOUNDS IN NORMAL-PHASE HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY ON A DIOL COLUMN

Retention data on a diol column for over 300 compounds of the chemical classes usually contained in aroma extracts of plants and foodstuffs are reported. A concept that largely corrects for minor fluctuations o f the mobile phase composition and of the flow-rate was used to measur e capacity factors. The mobile phase was composed of pentane and dieth yl ether. The high volatility of these two solvents makes the method p erfectly adaptable to the prefractionation of aroma extracts and the s emi-preparative isolation of compounds. Non-polar compounds such as hy drocarbons are not retained on diol. Polar compounds can be readily el uted, with the exception of strong acids and bases.