Portable instruments for on-site analysis of environmental samples

On-site analysis can provide qualitative or/and quantitative information of samples at the sample location. Up to date, a variety of portable instruments have been available for on-site analysis, some of which have even been commercialized. For an on-site analysis, all the steps including sampling, sample preparation, separation/non-separation, detection and data processing must be carried out on-site. Portable GC and GC-MS have been widely used in on-site environmental sample analysis. Moreover, there are many types of optical instruments based on absorption, emission or scattering have also been used for field analysis, each with its own advantages and application capabilities. Due to the limits of detection and selectivity of instruments being used, sample preparation is used in most applications. This review summarizes the current advances of on-site sample preparation devices, on-site GC/GC-MS, and on-site optical instruments in detail. Finally, the future development direction of these field instruments is also discussed. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

On-site analysis provides qualitative and/or quantitative information of samples at their location, and portable instruments have been widely used for this purpose. Sample preparation plays an important role in most applications due to the limitations of instrument detection and selectivity. This review summarizes the recent advances in on-site sample preparation devices, on-site GC/GC-MS, and on-site optical instruments.