Book excerpt: The third edition of this popular problem-solving guide for this widely-used method includes eleven completely new examples and several updated ones, adding up to 100 contributions about pitfalls and errors in HPLC. Each example is presented on a double page with the text on the left-hand and a fi gure on the right-hand side, true to the motto 'a picture says more than a thousand words'. In addition, the author presents essential fundamentals as well as helpful strategies, such as equipment tests or quality assurance processes. New in this edition * Variability of the standard deviation * Infl uence of the acid type and concentration in the eluent * Water as an unintentional additive in the mobile phase * Inadequate purity of mobile phase water * Incomplete degassing * Inadequate stabilization of the extraction solvent * Tailing of phosphate compounds in the presence of steel * Different detection properties of diastereomers * Detector overload in ELSD * System suitability test * From repeatability to reproducibility A must-have resource for all users - showing how to use HPLC efficiently and obtain reliable results.