Solid Phase Extraction (SPE)

Solid phase extraction (SPE) is a form of step-wise chromatography designed to extract, partition, and (or) adsorb one or more components from a liquid phase (sample) onto a stationary phase (sorbent or resin). Over the last twenty years, SPE has become the most powerful technique available for the rapid and selective sample preparation prior to analytical chromatography. SPE extends the lifetime of chromatographic systems and improves qualitative and quantitative analysis. By switching sample matrices from the original matrix to a simpler matrix environment, subsequent analysis is often simplified, and the demand placed on an analytical system is considerably lessened.