Hyphenation in sample preparation: advancement from the micro to the nano world.

Analysis at trace levels, an ideal area of application for hyphenated techniques, is steadily gaining importance. Many sample pre-concentration and clean-up methods have been hyphenated with core analytical techniques to accomplish the task of low level detection. The present article describes the state of the art of hyphenation of various techniques such as solid phase extraction, micro-solid phase extraction, dialysis, and chromatographic modalities etc. with liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, and spectroscopic methods. Besides, attempts have been made to address the hyphenation approach in microfluidic devices.