Capillary microextraction (CME) and its application to trace elements analysis and their speciation

As a solvent-free miniaturized sample preparation technique, capillary microextraction (CME) has been hyphenated with different analytical instruments for trace elements analysis of environmental, biological, food and pharmaceutical samples. This review discusses the fundamentals and recent development of CME, including the theoretical basis, extraction modes (packed, open-tubular and monolithic CME) and capillary materials for CME. The emphasis is placed on the application of CME to trace/ultra-trace elements analysis and their speciation. Existing coating/monolithic materials used for CME are summarized together with a detailed overview of their preparation methods.