title: Comparative analysis of peak-detection techniques for comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography.
abstract: Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) is a powerful technology for separating complex samples. The typical goal of GC×GC peak detection is to aggregate data points of analyte peaks based on their retention times and intensities. Two techniques commonly used for two-dimensional peak detection are the two-step algorithm and the watershed algorithm. A recent study [4] compared the performance of the two-step and watershed algorithms for GC×GC data with retention-time shifts in the second-column separations. In that analysis, the peak retention-time shifts were corrected while applying the two-step algorithm but the watershed algorithm was applied without shift correction. The results indicated that the watershed algorithm has a higher probability of erroneously splitting a single two-dimensional peak than the two-step approach. This paper reconsiders the analysis by comparing peak-detection performance for resolved peaks after correcting retention-time shifts for both the two-step and watershed algorithms. Simulations with wide-ranging conditions indicate that when shift correction is employed with both algorithms, the watershed algorithm detects resolved peaks with greater accuracy than the two-step method.
authors.affiliation: Computer Science and Engineering Department, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0115, USA. ilatha@cse.unl.edu
authors.forename: Indu
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Latha
authors.forename: Stephen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Reichenbach
authors.forename: Qingping
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tao
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods