3.2.2. Solid-Phase Microextraction

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME), developed by Pawliszyn and his co-workers in the 1990s [130], is a fast, solvent less-extraction technique for the sampling, cleaning-up and pre-concentration of analytes, which also o ffers the introduction of the sample to chromatography in a single solvent-free step. The SPME sorbents can be applied in both the headspace mode and the immersion mode. The simplicity of the SPME technique and other advantages, such as high selectivity and e ffective purification, the relatively low cost of equipment and the possibility of automation, mean that SPME is a powerful tool for the extraction of a wide range of compounds from di fferent matrices. Moreover, new sorbents for SPME based on ILs are also synthesized. Several publications have described the results of their application for improving the extraction e fficiency of di fferent groups of pharmaceuticals from biological and environmental samples.
