REVIEW ARTICLE Liquid-phase microextraction based on solidified floating drops of organic solvents Mahnaz Ghambarian & Yadollah Yamini & Ali Esrafili Received: 28 October 2012 / Accepted: 17 February 2013 # Springer-Verlag Wien 2013 Abstract Microextraction of organic or inorganic analytes using solidified floating drops of organic solvents is a fairly new method that is simple and rapid, and requires only small quantities of solvents and reagents. This review (with 109 references) covers published work up to Sep. 2012, and describes how the method was combined with analytical techniques such as GC, HPLC, ICP-OES and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. We discuss basic principles and the main parameters that affect the extraction efficiency, and give specific applications of the technique. Keywords Liquid-phase microextraction . Solidification of floating organic drop . Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction . Ultrasound assisted emulsification microextraction . Sample preparation Abbreviations APDC Ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate BBD Box–Behnken design CCD Central composite design CPE Cloud point extraction DEHP Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate DEHA Di-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate DLLME Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction DMAE Dynamic microwave-assisted extraction ETAAS Electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy FAAS Flame atomic absorption spectroscopy FI-FAAS Flow injection flame atomic absorption spectrometry GC-ECD Gas chromatography-electron capture detector GC-FID Gas chromatography-flame ionization detector GC-FPD Gas chromatography-flame photometric detector GC-MS Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry HOCs Halogenated organic compounds HPLC High-performance liquid chromatography HF-LPME Hollow fiber-based LPME technique HLLE Homogeneous liquid–liquid extraction HG-AFS Hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry ICP-OES Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry LODs Limits of detection LOQs Limits of quantification LLE Liquid–liquid extraction LPME Liquid-phase microextraction OCPs Organochlorine pesticides OPPs Organophosphorus pesticides OADs Orthogonal array designs PAHs Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PYRs Pyrethroids RSDs Relative standard deviations SDME Single drop microextraction SPE Solid-phase extraction SPME Solid-phase microextraction Y. Yamini (*) Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box: 14155–175, Tehran, Iran e-mail: yyamini@modares.ac.ir M. Ghambarian Iranian Research and Development Center for Chemical Industries (ACECR), Tehran, Iran A. Esrafili Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Microchim Acta DOI 10.1007/s00604-013-0969-8