Liquid load:

Too low a liquid load could leave adsorbing sites on the support exposed. This could cause irreversible adsorption or decomposition of the sample. To prevent this very inert supports should be used along with low liquid loadings. Volatility of solutes should also be considered although selecting the amount of liquid phase. Solutes of low volatality are best run on low loaded columns (∼ 3 % or less) for materials like as steroids. Extremely volatile solutes such as light hydrocarbons need high liquid loads (∼ 20% to 30%) because their solubilities in the liquid phase are low. The more the liquid phase, the longer the time that is spent in the liquid, the better is the partitioning.