great variety of stationary phases is available to analyze an even larger array of compounds. Stationary phases in which organic moieties (alkyl chains, aryl, amine, cholesterolic, phospholipids, phenol groups, etc.) are grafted onto a silica surface are the most popular. Sometimes the stationary phases themselves must be characterized, such as for quality control purposes. Often, interpreting chromatographic data is difficult because even columns that are "identical"-produced by the same manufacturer-exhibit different chromatographic properties. Determining the structure and properties of new stationary phases is also extremely important so that the retention mechanism, which plays a significant role in selectivity, can be described accurately. Chromatographic separation occurs because of the differences in the affinities of solute molecules for the stationary phase-retention is a process of solute transfer from a mobile phase onto/into a stationary phase (1).Column quality depends on a number of factors, the most important of which are homogeneity of both particle packing in the column bed and arrangement of the chemically bonded phase on the adsorbent surface. These factors determine the reproducibility of chromatographic data, and the large number of these factors is why there are a lot of methods for characterizing columns. Obviously, no ideal single technique can characterize all the © 2 0 0 4 A M E R