Comparison of Different Solid-Phase Microextraction Formats Dedicated to the Analysis of Volatile Compounds - A Comprehensive Study

The coupling of Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) technology with gas chromatography
(GC) has a well-established and successful history. Traditionally, SPME fibers have been the most
popular form thanks to their versatility and the ease with which they can be fully automated.
However, alternative geometries for SPME have been developed over the years, beginning with Stir
Bar Sorptive Extraction (SBSE) and later evolving into Thin-Film SPME (TF-SPME) devices. Each of
these formats offers distinct advantages and disadvantages, which are explored in this study. The
primary objective of this study was to comprehensively compare available forms of SPME devices,
with a special focus on the advantages of TF-SPME, a novel microextraction method particularly
suited for the analysis of odorants in food. The study involved analyzing a standard mixture of
11 keyfood odorants, representing a range of polarities, to evaluate the efficiency of TF-SPME devices
in terms of the number of analytes extracted. Furthermore, four types of TF-SPME devices were
compared against each other in both standard mixtures and actual food samples. The final stage of
the study employed GCxGC-ToFMS analysis to showcase the potential of the most efficient HLB-TF
SPMEdevice in the non-targeted analysis of complex samples, exemplified by unfiltered wheat beer.
This analysis demonstrated the significant capability of HLB-TF-SPME in capturing and identifying a
wide range of volatile compounds in complex matrices.