MEANS AND METHODS FOR CHARACTERIZING A CHEMICAL SAMPLE

A method for characterizing a sample containing at least one compound, preferably a biological sample comprising at least one metabolite, is proposed. In a first process step, a three-dimensional first set of data is generated by analyzing the sample by using at least one time resolved separation technique (214) and at least mass one resolved separation technique (216). The set of data comprises at least one signal I as a function of a mass variable over a first range of measurement (420) and of a time variable over a second range of measurement (422). In a second process step, the first range of measurement (420) is divided into at least two mass variable intervals (424). For each mass variable interval (424), an extracted signal is selected, wherein the extracted signal is a function of the time variable. In a third process step, the second range of measurement (422) is divided into at least one time variable interval (426) .