Metrics of separation in chromatography

A new metric, separation measure, S, for chromatographic separation is prop osed. Unlike other metrics such as resolution, separation number, and some versions of peak capacity, the new metric provides a consistent, additive m easure of the separation of pairs of peaks as well as the separation capaci ties of arbitrary intervals within the analysis time. The attribute of addi tivity means that the separation measure of any separation interval is equa l to the sum of the separation measures of its subintervals. Practical aspe cts of the measurement of S are also addressed. In addition to definition o f S, a definition of peak capacity, n, that is consistent with S, and inclu des useful features of other known definitions of n is proposed for an arbi trary time interval. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.