Deep eutectic solvents in biological monitoring of occupational exposures

Different solvents have been introduced for microextraction of different metabolites from human samples. Most solvents have disadvantages such as non-biodegradability, high toxicity and cost. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are an alternative for these solvents possess significant properties such as low toxicity, high thermal stability, solubility capacity for several compounds, tunability, and biocompatibility. This study aims to review the application of DESs for biomonitoring of occupational exposures. Most reviewed studies have used DESs to extract volatile organic compounds, metal dusts, and pesticides which are important pollutants in exposure assessment. DESs have been used in liquid-liquid microextraction (LLME), single drop microextraction, hollow fiber-liquid phase microextraction, dispersive LLME, vortex, ferrofluid, air, and ultrasound -assisted dispersive LLME, cloud point extraction, solid-phase extraction(SPE), dispersive SPE, solid phase microextraction (SPME), and magnetic SPE. This review demonstrates that DESs have great potential for biological monitoring and are a greener alternative to organic solvents or even ionic liquids.