The glass beads which are commonly employed in gasliquid chromatographic columns are of the soda-lime composition type. In addition to the silanol groups that exist on the surface of these beads, Ca ++ ions are present which may function as Lewis acid sites and cause adsorption of lonepair donor molecules such as ketones and amines. Columns containing beads made from soda-lime glass have been compared with those prepared from fused silica and from a sodium silicate composition. Superior chromatographic results were obtained with both the fused silica and the sodium silicate columns. These are attributed to the absence of potential Lewis acid sites.