Revisiting the Fundamentals of Untargeted Data Analysis with Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography (GC×GC): With Great Peak Capacity, There Must Also Come Great Responsibility

Abstract

This article provides a general overview of untargeted analysis using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC), while revisiting some fundamental aspects of method development. The original definition of chemometrics is also revised according to the latest developments of the field. We discuss how GC×GC has become an important backbone for new strategies in separation science, especially in multivariate data analysis. The concept of pixel is also revisited, as an important pixel-based data processing method, namely the Fisher ratio proposed by Synovec and coworkers, has been successfully implemented in important software for GC×GC.