GcDUO: an open-source software for GC × GC-MS data analysis.

Abstract

Comprehensive 2D gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC × GC-MS) is a powerful analytical technique. However, the complexity and volume of data generated pose significant challenges for data processing and interpretation, limiting a broader adoption. Chemometric approaches, particularly multiway models like Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC), have proven effective in addressing these challenges by enabling the extraction of meaningful chemical information from multi-dimensional datasets. However, traditional PARAFAC is constrained by its assumption of data tri-linearity, which may not be valid in all cases, leading to potential inaccuracies. To overcome these limitations, we present GcDUO, an open-source software implemented in R, designed specifically for the processing and analysis of GC × GC-MS data. GcDUO integrates advanced chemometric methods, including both PARAFAC and PARAFAC2, for a more accurate and comprehensive analysis. PARAFAC is particularly useful for deconvoluting overlapping peaks and extracting pure chemical signals, while PARAFAC2 relaxes de tri-linearity constraint, allowing the alignment between samples. The software is structured into six modules-data import, region of interest (ROI) selection, deconvolution, peak annotation, data integration, and visualization-facilitating comprehensive and flexible data processing. GcDUO was validated against the gold-standard software for comprehensive GC, demonstrating a high correlation (R2 = 0.9) in peak area measurements, confirming its effectiveness and reliability. GcDUO provides a valuable, open-source platform for researchers in metabolomics and related fields, enabling more accessible and customizable GC × GC-MS data analysis.