Comparisons of Methods for Calculating Retention and Separation of Chromatographic Peaks

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Abstract
The accuracy and precision of calculating retention times from means and peak maxima have been examined using an exponentially modified Gaussian as a model for tailed chromatographic peaks. At different levels of random noise, retention times could be determined with nearly the same precision using either the mean or maximum. However, the accuracies and precisions of the maxima were affected by the number of points used in the digital smooth and by the number of points recorded per unit of standard deviation. For two peaks of similar shape, consistency in the selection of points should usually permit differences in retention to be determined accurately and with approximately the same precision using maxima, means, or half-heights on the leading side of the peak.