Bridging the Gap Between Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Liquid Extraction Techniques: Alternative Approaches to the Extraction of Solid and Liquid Environmental Matrices

Abstract

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) sometimes yields poor recoveries as the result of inefficient analyte collection. Methods of collection and the important parameters for optimization are briefly discussed. The extraction of polar and/or high molecular weight analytes with (common??) supercritical fluids is frequently difficult and therefore, Conventional liquid extraction techniques are not obsolete. Many of the methods that are developing as alternatives to SFE for polar analytes are reviewed herein. The approaches are classified based on whether the analytes, extraction fluid, matrix, or experiment/instrumentation were varied. Advantages and disadvantages of each technique are described.

Key Words:

• extraction
• supercritical fluid
• alternatives.