What is my LC “Column Volume”?

Often LC analysts need to know what the volume is for the specific column they are using. This value is used for recommendations in terms of conditioning, equilibration and method development. Although this term is sometimes called “total volume”, this usually refers to the “void volume” or the volume of mobile phase that is between the silica particles. The key is that this is a measurement of the interstitial space. Column volume, V, can be calculated as follows. 

For fully porous LC columns (Force, Roc, Ultra, Allure, Pinnacle DB, Pinnacle II or Viva columns):

V = πr² x L  x 0.68

Where L = column length in cm and r = column radius in cm.

For superficially porous (SPP) LC columns (Raptor):

V = πr² x L  x 0.50

I hope that this post clears up some questions you might have had and thanks for reading.