Information technologies for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) presents information technology challenges in data handling, visualization, processing, analysis and reporting. With its significantly greater separation capacity, GC×GC generates data sets that are two to three orders-of-magnitude larger than for conventional GC and that exhibit an order-of-magnitude or more distinct peaks in complex multidimensional patterns. GC×GC is a much richer source of data for chemical analyses, but extracting relevant information from the large, complex data sets requires advanced information technologies. This paper reviews a range of state-of-the-art information technologies for GC×GC, including graphical user-interfaces (GUIs), computer graphics for data visualization, data file formats for storage and interchange, digital image processing, image analysis and pattern recognition, data and information formats, and software architecture and engineering.