The advantage of a second dimension
By applying a second, orthogonal separation after the first, GC×GC dramatically increases peak capacity and resolution. What was once lost in overlap becomes distinct. This structure allows clusters of compounds—those that elute together in one dimension—to be teased apart in the second.
High-concentration matrix elements that suppress weaker analytes in GC are separated out, increasing the quality of mass spectral matches and the confidence in identification. The resulting GC×GC contour plot is a rich, 3D fingerprint—retention in both dimensions plus intensity—for both target and unknown compounds.
From food and drink to air, soil, and materials, Oxford Indices delivers high-resolution analysis using two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) with TOF-MS, revealing compounds standard methods miss.
Our services include:
Standardised Testing — research, development, diagnostics, and pre-certification.
Brand Protection — authenticity verification and compositional fingerprinting.
Data Analysis — clear interpretation of complex chromatographic data.
Advisory Services — expert insight to guide analytical and formulation decisions.
Independent, precise, and responsive — we bring clarity through complexity.
Why two-dimensional GC?
When conventional GC reaches its limits
Organic compounds fall into two classes: larger, polar molecules suited to HPLC (~80%), and smaller, volatile species (~20%) that require gas chromatography. For the lighter, volatile end of that spectrum, Oxford Indices provides both conventional GC and advanced GC×GC — but it is in the second dimension that we unlock true insight.
While single-column GC can robustly analyse known analytes, it often fails where mixtures are complex. Multiple compounds coelute, peaks cluster, and vital signals are masked in unresolved background.
Applications that demand clarity
In fields like environmental monitoring, materials testing, soil samples analysis, food and drink flavour or fragrance profiling, sample complexity is the rule, not the exception.
Our exceptional GC technology supports our sister company Emissions Analytics, to test and standardize biofuels.
Single-dimension GC frequently leaves broad zones of unresolved peaks. The second dimension resolves previously hidden coelutions—identifying compounds that standard GC cannot differentiate. This is especially critical for trace-level analytes masked by dominant components.