Recent Developments in Selective Materials for Solid Phase Extraction

Abstract

The success of any analytical method depends largely on the sample preparation technique which is usually employed for the extraction and pre-concentration of the target analyte from a sample matrix. In this context, solid-phase extraction has been greatly explored by various researchers in many scientific fields including environmental analysis of pollutants, as well as analysis of food and biological samples. One of the solid-phase extraction drawbacks observed over the years is its inability to selectively extract the target analytes from the sample matrix, which could have a consequence of prolonging the analysis times and have negative effect on the analytical data. In this paper, recent trends starting from the work published in 2014–2018 in selective solid-phase extraction are critically reviewed while interesting studies prior to 2014 are mentioned. Solid-phase extraction sorbents that have been revealed in greater extent in literature to offer better selectivity are molecularly imprinted polymers and nano sorbents. Other sorbents reviewed in this work include composite materials which are sometimes designed for improving the adsorption capacity as well as selectivity. Mixed-mode ion-exchange polymers categorized as class selective sorbents have also been reviewed and recent applications are cited. Moreover, a broad discussion on miniaturization, new inventions and future of selective solid-phase extraction utilizing different sorbents in various sample matrices is outlined.