University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology,
Bulevar cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

A review of selected literature recommendations for prediction of retention indices of aromatic hydrocarbons is presented. Therefore, the aim of the present work is to calculate the retention indices of alkylbenzenes on stationary phases with different polarity: squalane, methylsilicones and UCON LB 550X. Another aim is to calculate the retention indices for naphthalenes on methylsilicone stationary phase using different equations those were fitted to be the best ones according to published statistical properties and to compare with the unified retention index concept [1-4]. It is shown that the unified retention index concept provides the smallest residual error for chosen set of aromatic hydrocarbons on selected stationary phases and that it could be applied for prediction purposes.

Also, the unified retention index concept provides a better procedure for the study and explanation of quantitative structure-gas chromatographic retention relationships, dispersion and selectivity indices, etc. Since unified retention index has the advantage of being a statistical value it is more reliable than any individual experimental retention value. The values of the unified retention data could be used as a data bank and with the aid of suitable software computer assisted identification might be possible.

[1] N.G. Johansen and L.S. Ettre, Chromatographia, 15 (1982) 625.

[2] N. Dimov, J. Chromatogr., 347 (1985) 366.

[3] B.D. Škrbić and J.Dj. Cvejanov, Chromatographia, 31 (1992) 83.

[4] B.D. Škrbić, J. Chromatogr.A, 767 (1997) 257.