Recent progress in solid-phase microextraction and its pharmaceutical and biomedical applications

In pharmaceutical and biomedical analyses, sample preparation is essential for the isolation and concentration of target compounds from complex biological matrices. This process is both labor-intensive and error-prone and markedly influences the reliability and accuracy of determining molecules of interest. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a simple and convenient sample preparation technique that has enabled automation, miniaturization, high-throughput performance, and on-line coupling with analytical instruments. Moreover, SPME has reduced analysis times, as well as the cost of solvents and disposal. SPME procedures have been modified to address requirements of specific applications. More robust fiber assemblies and coatings with higher extraction efficiencies, selectivity and stability have been commercialized. Furthermore, devices have been designed to use capillary tubes, magnetic stir bars or thin films rather than fibers for extraction. This review focuses on novel SPME techniques, including fiber SPME, in-tube SPME and related techniques, reported in the past five years. Their applications to pharmaceutical, forensic and diagnostic studies and to determinations of environmental and occupational exposure are also summarized.