Online coupling of solid-phase microextraction and capillary electrophoresis

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) are two of the main inventions that shaped 20th Century analytical chemistry. SPME is an effective microscale sampling and sample preparation technique, and CE is a high-efficiency microanalytical method. Online coupling of SPME with CE can be a powerful combination because of the significant advantages of the two techniques. The progress in the development of online SPME-CE coupling is surveyed in this review. Problems encountered and solutions reported are highlighted.