Recent developments in sample preparation techniques combined with high-performance liquid chromatography: A critical review

This review article compares and contrasts sample preparation techniques coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and describes applications developed in biomedical, forensics, and environmental/industrial hygiene in the last two decades. The proper sample preparation technique can offer valued data for a targeted application when coupled to HPLC and a suitable detector. Improve-ments in sample preparation techniques in the last two decades have resulted in efficient extraction, cleanup, and preconcentration in a single step, thus providing a pathway to tackle complex matrix appli-cations. Applications such as biological therapeutics, proteomics, lipidomics, metabolomics, environmen-tal/industrial hygiene, forensics, glycan cleanup, etc., have been significantly enhanced due to improved sample preparation techniques. This review looks at the early sample preparation techniques. Further, it describes eight sample preparation technique coupled to HPLC that has gained prominence in the last two decades. They are (1) solid-phase extraction (SPE), (2) liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), (3) gel perme-ation chromatography (GPC), (4) Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged, Safe (QuEChERS), (5) solid-phase microextraction (SPME), (6) ultrasonic-assisted solvent extraction (UASE), and (7) microwave-assisted sol-vent extraction (MWASE). SPE, LLE, GPC, QuEChERS, and SPME can be used offline and online with HPLC. UASE and MWASE can be used offline with HPLC but have also been combined with the online automated techniques of SPE, LLE, GPC, or QuEChERS for targeted analysis. Three application areas of biomedical, forensics, and environmental/industrial hygiene are reviewed for the eight sample preparation techniques. Three hundred and twenty references on the eight sample preparation techniques published over the last two decades (2001-2021) are provided. Other older references were included to illustrate the historical development of sample preparation techniques. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This review article discusses sample preparation techniques coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and their applications in biomedical, forensics, and environmental/industrial hygiene over the past two decades. Improved sample preparation techniques have led to efficient extraction, cleanup, and preconcentration, enhancing the analysis capabilities in various fields.