Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) combined with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) represents a strategic choice in terms of resolving power and identification.
The volatile profiles of wines are characterized by the presence of numerous compounds, in the order of several hundred, belonging to multiple chemical classes of different types (alcohols, aldehydes, fatty acid esters, etc.). These play a crucial role in determining, both individually and in a concerted way, the organoleptic properties of the products and consequently their quality.
An accurate and detailed characterization of the composition is therefore desirable, but this is made difficult by the high complexity of the matrices under examination.
Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) combined with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) represents a strategic choice in terms of resolving power and identification.
The analytical method is based on the superior separating power guaranteed by GC×GC which, thanks to the use of two independent analytical columns in a single analysis, allows to reduce co-elutions and determine a significantly higher number of analytes. HRMS data with accurate mass provides an additional dimension, capable of improving the reliability of the identification process.
In the present study we aim to illustrate the excellent potential of GC×GC with thermal modulation combined with a QTOF detector in order to identify, in a possibly unambiguous way, volatile analytes present in wines.