Coupling solid-phase microextraction to liquid chromatography. A review.

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a technique for extraction of organic compounds from gaseous, aqueous, and solid matrices. SPME is rapid and simple, ideal for automation and for in situ measurements, and no harmful solvents are needed. The principle of SPME involves equilibration of the analytes between the sample matrix and an organic polymeric phase coated on a fused-silica fiber. SPME is traditionally combined with analysis by gas chromatography (GC) and this combination has proved sensitive, accurate, and precise for quantitative analysis of different classes of volatile compound. More recently SPME has been coupled with liquid chromatography to widen its range of application to non-volatile and thermally unstable compounds also. This article reviews the status of SPME coupled with liquid chromatography. It focuses on different applications of the technique, e.g. environmental samples, biological fluids, and food samples, to show that SPME-HPLC has great potential in the analysis of a wide range of compounds in different matrices.