Comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography in food analysis

Comprehensive two-dimensional (2D) chromatographic techniques can be considered innovative methods, only quite recently developed. Since their introduction to the chromatographic community, these techniques have been used in several fields and have gained an excellent reputation as valuable and powerful analytical tools. The revolutionary aspect of comprehensive multidimensional (MD) techniques, in respect to classical MD chromatography, is that the entire sample is subjected to the 2D advantage. The resulting unprecedented separating capacity makes these approaches prime choices when analysts are challenged with highly complex mixtures. Furthermore, in the case of automated systems, instrumental analysis times are roughly the same as in monodimensional applications. The present review reports various comprehensive chromatographic applications on different food matrices. The GC x GC section highlights two fundamental aspects for component separation/identification: the exceptional peak capacity and the formation of group types on the 2D space plane. The LC x LC section reports the employment in food analysis of a recently developed multidimensional normal-phase (NP)-reversed-phase (RP) high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. Also reported are comprehensive LC x GC and packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (pSFC x pSFC) applications in this field.