Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exiting in urine are potential biomarkers of chronic kidney diseases. Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was applied for extraction VOCs over the urine samples. Volatile metabolites were separated and identified by means of two-dimensional gas chromatography and time of flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC TOF MS). Patients with glomerular diseases (n = 27) and healthy controls (n = 20) were recruited in the study. Different VOCs profiles were obtained from patients and control. Developed methodology offers the opportunity to examine the metabolic profile associated with glomerulopathy. Four compounds found in elevated amounts in the patients group, i.e., methyl hexadecanoate; 9-hexadecen-1-ol; 6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-one and 2-pentanone were proposed as markers of glomerular diseases.

Since the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) technique is becoming more and more available for scientists as well as for laboratories performing routine analyses, the most successful field of applications are petrochemical, food and essential oil analysis. However, this technique coupled with TOF-MS (P.1, l. 27) could be even more successfully used in the field of metabolomics. The review presents briefly the concept of comprehensive 2D GC and the principles of the technique. Certain specific applications are discussed to show the usefulness of GC × GC combined with different detectors for determination of compounds not always easy to measure with other techniques.