Fabric Phase Sorptive Extraction: Unifying Solid Phase Microextraction and Solid Phase Extraction by Design

Abstract

A fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) device has gained considerable popularity in recent years as a novel sample preparation device for the rapid monitoring of a myriad of target analytes in biological, environmental, forensic, food and pharmaceutical samples. This extraction device is fabricated via a sol–gel sorbent coating process which enables strong chemical bonding between the flexible fabric substrate and the sorbent immobilized on the substrate's surface. The inherent material properties of the sol–gel sorbent and the chemically bonded sorbent on the fabric substrate endow FPSE membranes with high thermal, chemical and solvent stability. The number of available sorbents in FPSE outnumbers that of any other sample preparation techniques and offers a broad range of sorbents with distinct chemistries which could establish specific interactions (e.g., hydrogen bonding, dipole–dipole interactions, London dispersion force, π–π interactions and others) with the target analytes. Fabric phase sorptive extraction has integrated the extraction mechanisms of solid phase extraction (exhaustive extraction) and solid phase microextraction (equilibrium extraction) by design. When an FPSE membrane is introduced into the sample matrix, it mimics an SPME fiber. During the extraction, the aqueous sample matrix continuously permeates through the pores of the FPSE membrane that mimics a solid phase extraction disk. The combination of the extraction mechanisms of two major, yet competing sample preparation technologies, sponge-like porous architecture of sol–gel sorbents, improved thermodynamic properties due to the combination of organic and inorganic components and faster extraction kinetics have positioned FPSE as an ideal sample preparation technology in the field of analytical and bioanalytical chemistry.