ABSTRACT
Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) appears to offer flavor and fragrance chemists significant benefits as an extraction/concentration technique prior to gas chromatography (GC) analysis. It is simple, rapid, solventless, and sensitive. Furthermore, it is less expensive to implement than purge-and-trap methods and many other sample preparation techniques that require specialized ancillary instrumentation. Before adapting a new extraction technology like SPME as a routine procedure, it is important to understand how it compares to the standard sample preparation techniques that have been used in the past.
