Resolution of two-way data: theoretical background and practical problem-solving. Part 1: theoretical background and methodology

This paper reviews recent progress in the resolution of two-way data obtained from hyphenated instruments. Special emphasis is placed on the solution of practical problems. Methods for estimating the number of chemical components both statistically and visually (the first step in solving the resolution problem) and methods for resolving the pure profiles (the second step in solving the resolution problem) are discussed in detail. To deal with real-world problems, pitfalls in the chemometric analysis of the two-way data from the instrumental measurements are also pointed out. Applications of methods for solving some difficult practical problems in environmental chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, and physical chemistry will be discussed in the second part of this paper.