For the analysis of organic compounds in aqueous environmen tal matrices several sample preparation methods are used. Volatile organic compounds can be analysed using (static) headspace, purge and trap or liquid-liquid extraction. Semivolatiles are analysed after liquid-liquid extraction or solid phase extraction (SPE).
During the past years, miniaturisation has become a dominant trend in analytical chemistry. Typical examples of miniaturisation in sample preparation techniques are micro liquid-liquid extraction (in-vial extraction), ambient static headspace and disk cartridge SPE. In combination with stateof-the-art analytical instrumentation, this resulted in faster analysis, higher sample throughput, lower solvent consumption, less manpower in sample preparation while maintaining or even improving sensitivity.
