ratio relative retention time (quality) true Orange Book: IUPAC Compendium of Analytical Nomenclature. Second Edition, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1987. relative retention PAC, 1993, 65, 819. Nomenclature for chromatography (IUPAC Recommendations 1993) relative retention time (quality) Relative retention time is a ratio quality of the adjusted or net retention time of a component relative to that of a standard, obtained under identical conditions. [Allotrope] relative retention time