Sample treatment for the determination of emerging organic contaminants in aquatic organisms

Chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry has become an important tool for determining emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in environmental samples such as aquatic organisms. Sample treatment, which includes extraction and clean-up, continues to play an important role in the analysis of complex matrices. Indeed it often becomes a bottleneck in the compromise between time and efficiency when obtaining suitable extracts for analysis. This article focuses on the state of the art in the treatment of aquatic organism samples for determining EOCs. A review is carried out of the most recent relevant publications from 2011 up to the present, in which new methods for determining EOCs in aquatic organisms were developed. The most common extraction techniques employed in these studies, like pressurised liquid extraction, solid-liquid extraction, QuEChERS, microwave-assisted extraction and matrix solid-phase extraction along with the subsequent clean-up steps, are also examined. The most important parameters involving extraction and clean-up are discussed.