For example, under the HILIC conditions, the difference in on-column plate numbers at 2.0 mL/min between the 3 m FPP and the SPP is 4100 whereas the difference in the NP mode increased to 6500. Apparently, non-aqueous conditions can allow for improved exploitation of the “Cs” term advantages for this SPP based HILIC phase. This implies that, amongst other factors, the increased viscosity and stationary phase thickness resulting from the adsorbed water layer have a significant effect on band broadening at high flow rates. Further, “Cs” is influenced by diffusion distance inside particles, which is inherently shortened in SPPs [27]. An implication of a substantial water layer may be an increase in the stationary phase diffusional path length in the HILIC mode; decreasing one potential advantage of the SPP material.