What it means for a research store
In HPLC a liquid sample is pumped at high pressure through a column packed with a stationary material. Different components travel through the column at different speeds and leave it at different times, called retention times. A detector, commonly ultraviolet absorbance, records each component as a peak on a chromatogram.
Purity is usually reported as the area of the main peak divided by the total area of all detected peaks, expressed as a percentage. That is why an HPLC purity figure describes what the detector could see under that method: impurities that do not absorb at the chosen wavelength, or that elute with the main peak, may not be counted. A well-written COA states the column, wavelength and method so the number can be interpreted.
HPLC shows how much of the sample is one component; it does not by itself prove what that component is. Identity is normally confirmed by mass spectrometry, often coupled directly to the chromatograph as LC-MS. When you review a COA, look for both an identity result and a purity result, the lot number, and the chromatogram image rather than a bare percentage.
How Torva OS handles it
Torva OS does not test materials. It stores and displays the laboratory’s COA, including the chromatogram, against the right product and lot so a buyer can read it.
Related guides
Updated September 25, 2026. General information for merchants, not legal, tax or financial advice. This glossary does not describe the use of any compound in people.
