Towards spatial comprehensive three-dimensional liquid chromatography: A tutorial review.

In spatial comprehensive three-dimensional chromatography (3D-LC) components are separated within a three-dimensional separation space that can lead to unprecedented resolving power, in terms of peak capacity and peak-production rate. The maximum peak capacity is the product of the peak capacities achieved in the individual dimensions when orthogonal retention mechanisms are incorporated. The parallel development of the second- and third-dimension separation stages overcomes the fundamental limitation of conventional multi-dimensional approaches, in which sampled fractions are analyzed sequentially. General considerations for chip design are discussed and possibilities and prospects to establish spatial comprehensive 3D-LC analysis are presented.