Multi-column trajectory to advanced methods in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) and multidimensional GC (MDGC) offer high performance separation capability towards multi-component samples, and improved sample characterisation. Recent advances, particularly with new GC×GC methodologies, which apply additional columns to GC×GC, along with hyphenation with mass spectrometry, potentially have a tremendous impact on the analysis of various applications such as food, petrochemicals, fragrances, drugs and environmental samples. The present review highlights the new experimental designs in GC×GC coupled with MDGC to offer significant changes in operational performance, and applications of these technologies which have been developed since 2000.