Recent sample pretreatment methods for determination of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in biological samples

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (FLU), sertraline (SER), paroxetine (PAR), fluvoxamine (FLV) and citalopram (CIT) have been the first treatment drugs for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Quantitative analysis of SSRIs in biological samples is extremely needed in public health and clinical practice. During the analysis, sample pretreatment is an important step that can obtain an accurate quantitative analysis of SSRIs in the complex samples. The present paper discussed the recent development of sample preparation methods for SSRI analysis. Traditional sample preparation techniques such as liquid liquid extraction (LLE) and solid phase extraction (SPE), which have been widely used in the separation of SSRIs in biological samples, were extensively presented. Moreover, the new sample preparation techniques including liquid phase microextraction (LPME), solid phase microextraction (SPME), electromembrane extraction (EME) and other miniaturized extraction techniques, which are becoming highly popular in SSRI analysis, were also critically reviewed. In this review, both the advantages and disadvantages of these sample pretreatment methods were addressed. As a summary, we prospected the challenges and promising directions for the future of sample pretreatment methods in SSRI analysis.