Recent approaches for the determination of synthetic musk fragrances in environmental samples

We review the main analytical methods currently employed for the determination of synthetic musk fragrances in air, aqueous and solid samples, such as sewage sludge or sediments, and biological samples. The review covers instrumental aspects, and procedures for extraction and clean-up. We pay special attention to current trends, such as the replacement of conventional extraction techniques (e.g., liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction) by microextraction techniques (e.g., solid-phase microextraction and microextraction by packed sorbents) in order to obtain environment-friendly methodologies. We also discuss the applicability of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (MS) or high-resolution MS to enhance the separation of co-eluting compounds and to decrease the matrix effect. Further, we describe a number of degradation assays for the determination of the main transformation products of polycyclic musk fragrances.