Current trends in the sorbent-based extraction of illegal drugs from biofluids: Solid sorbents and configurations

Analysis of illegal drugs in biofluids typically requires the incorporation of an adequate sample treatment step together with high performance instrumentation to meet the high demands of the modern Analytical Chemistry in terms of sensitivity and selectivity. Regarding the main objective, sample treatment can be addressed to: i) the extraction of a large number of different compounds; or ii) the selective extraction of one or a reduced group of compounds of similar nature. Traditionally, sample treatment step has been considered the main bottleneck of analytical procedures, consuming most of the required energy, time and resources of the total analysis. The recent advances in the area of materials science and the development of miniaturized sample handling techniques have generated new opportunities hitherto inconceivable. This review article summarizes new developments in sorbent-based techniques for the analysis of illegal drugs in biofluids, providing a critical comparison not only of traditional generic sorbents versus engineered materials, but also the preferred extractive formats for this purpose. [Display omitted] •Generic commercial sorbents are the preferred phases for drug extraction.•Mixed mode interactions are the most employed generic phases.•Molecularly imprinted polymers and aptamers provides excellent selectivity.•The use of miniaturized techniques as μSPE, MEPS and PT-SPE is increasing.