Chapter 6. Heart-cutting Two-dimensional Gas Chromatography

Multidimensional gas chromatography (MDGC) offers superior separation efficiency when compared with one-dimensional GC. The selective transfer of target analytes onto a second and independent separation column is best achieved with heart-cutting two-dimensional GC, herein defined as “MDGC”. Particularly in food analysis with often complex matrices, MDGC can drastically reduce the risk of co-elutions that can otherwise interfere with detection of the analytes of interest. The present chapter summarizes current technical implementations for column flow switching, presents optimization concepts, describes recent trends, reports on important applications particularly in the fields of flavor analysis and authenticity control, and concludes with a future perspective on chip-based MDGC.