Multivariate peak purity approaches

The mathematical basis and interpretation of the results of several multivariate techniques for the determination of the number of compounds present in an evolving multicomponent system are presented. All the techniques described are applicable to bilinear data matrices obtained from evolutionary processes, i.e., the concentration of each compound evolves with an ordered variable such as time or pH. Their performance for the detection of a minor compound in the presence of a main one is discussed. The application to systems with more than 2 compounds and the effect of smoothing are also considered.