Abstract
The evaluation of the time spent by a solute exclusively in the mobile phase (dead time) is of fundamental interest for the interpretation of the retention data and obtainment of thermodynamic parameters for the HPLC process. This parameter depends on the volume occupied by the mobile phase and on the volume of the effective stationary phase from the HPLC column, and the measurement of these volumes poses a real challenge. This review discusses the evaluation of volumes of various phases involved in the retention process of solutes, which are related to the dead time, and the phase ratio for the separation. This paper attempts to cover as many points of view as possible regarding this topic in liquid chromatography, which is of importance for almost all separation mechanisms.