Sample Preparation-Quo Vadis: Current Status of Sample Preparation Approaches

Sample preparation is and will always be the most important step in chemical analysis. Numerous techniques, methods, methodologies, and approaches are published in the literature, offering a wide range of analytical tools to the lab practitioner. Analytical scientists all over the world try to develop protocols for a plethora of analytes in various sample matrices. In the last decade, sample pretreatment advances followed green chemistry and green analytical chemistry demands, focusing on miniaturization and automation, using the least possible amount of organic solvents. The questions are how far have we come and what are the future perspectives? To answer these questions, analytical chemists were invited to share their experience in the field and to report on the recent advances in sample preparation approaches.