Theoretical description of a new analytical technique: Comprehensive online multidimensional fast Fourier transform separations

Comprehensive multidimensional separations are today dominated by systems that are fundamentally limited to highly asymmetrical online separations sacrificing separation space, or to lengthy, time consuming offline separations. With the exception of pulse-modulated methods, separations have thus been limited to two dimensions. It is proposed that some of the limitations and shortcomings of these methods may be ameliorated or overcome by employing multi-dimensional detection whereby each analyte is effectively labelled in the frequency domain by a series of pulsed-injections, and a symmetrical, comprehensive online analysis performed with the resulting signal processed by sequential Fourier analysis. A semi-empirical computer model of this system was developed and its feasibility positively demonstrated in simulations of high-efficiency separations in two dimensions. Separations of higher dimensionality were shown to be possible but involved signal-processing challenges beyond the present work. By eliminating wrap-around effects and enabling the separation of physically unseparated peaks, the technique facilitates significant improvements in peak capacity per unit of analysis time as well as greatly improved signal to noise ratios. Because these comprehensive online multidimensional Fourier transform separations depend heavily upon the practical lifetime of imposed injection pulses, it is envisaged that this method will leverage emerging high-efficiency micro- and nanoscale separations technologies. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.