Multidimensional gas chromatography methods for bioanalytical research

Multidimensional gas chromatography (MDGC) methods are high-resolution volatile chemical separation techniques, and comprise classical heart-cutting MDGC and its more recent incarnation, comprehensive 2D GC. Although available for a long period, MDGC approaches are still not widely practiced in the field of bioanalysis, possibly reflecting the general preference for regular GC versus MDGC approaches. With the recent introduction of '-omic' techniques that emphasize global nontargeted profiling of metabolites within living systems, it is evident that MDGC is gaining momentum as a separation tool, since it offers very high resolution. By untangling metabolites within highly complex biological matrices, and expanding the metabolic coverage, MDGC plays a frontline role in '-omics' based studies. This review highlights state-of-the-art MDGC approaches, and summarizes the recent developments in bioanalytics.