Applications of Experimental Design to the Optimization of Microextraction Sample Preparation Parameters for the Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables

Abstract

Abstract Sample preparation has been identified as the most important step in analytical chemistry and has been tagged as the bottleneck of analytical methodology. The current trend is aimed at developing cost-effective, miniaturized, simplified, and environmentally friendly sample preparation techniques. The fundamentals and applications of multivariate statistical techniques for the optimization of microextraction sample preparation and chromatographic analysis of pesticide residues are described in this review. The use of Placket-Burman, Doehlert matrix, and Box-Behnken designs are discussed. As observed in this review, a number of analytical chemists have combined chemometrics and microextraction techniques, which has helped to streamline sample preparation and improve sample throughput.