Headspace solid-phase microextraction

Headspace solid-phase microextraction is a solvent-free sample preparation technique in which a fused silica fiber coated with polymeric organic liquid is introduced into the headspace above the sample. The volatilized organic analytes are extracted and concentrated in the coating and then transferred to the analytical instrument for desorption and analysis. This modification of the solid-phase microextraction method (SPME) shortens the time of extraction and facilitates the application of this method to analysis of solid samples. The detection limits of the headspace SPME technique are at ppt level when ion trap mass spectrometry is used as the detector and are very similar to that of the direct SPME technique