Recent advancements and future trends in environmental analysis: Sample preparation, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

•Recent techniques for the extraction of emerging contaminants have been described.•Advancements in LC-MS analysis of emerging contaminants have been illustrated.•Advantages and shortcomings of each technique have been discussed.•Latest LC-MS applications in the environmental research area have been presented.•Future trends in environmental analysis have been identified.

Among the thousands of chemicals having potential to enter the environment, the NORMAN network has identified at least 700 substances categorized into 20 classes in the European surface waters. Pesticides, pharmaceuticals, disinfection by-products, wood preservation and industrial chemicals are the prominent classes. Since the impact of these substances on aquatic life and human health might be dramatic, action is urgently required at multiple levels; one of them is just related to the development of more and more sensible and selective analytical methods.This review highlights the latest advancements and trends in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry based environmental analysis. Specific sections are dedicated to novelties in sample preparation, chromatographic separation and mass spectrometry detection of emerging pollutants. The review also offers insights on last generation chromatographic and extraction materials, technological progresses and innovative methodological approaches for target and non-target analysis. As numerous papers have been published in this field, this overview covers the most representative and original works published in the 2011-2016 period.

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