Electromembrane extraction of peptides – Looking retrospectively into published studies

Electromembrane extraction (EME) has been developed into an attractive microextraction concept for extraction of pharmaceuticals and related substances from blood and urine. In EME, charged substances are extracted across a liquid membrane (organic) under the influence of an electrical field. Recently, commercial equipment for EME was launched, and this is expected to increase the interest for the technique. EME has also been explored for extraction of peptides, but this is more complicated due to the challenges related to the solvation of peptides in the organic liquid membrane. In this paper, we review the literature on EME of peptides, and we retrospectively look closer into published studies based on our current understanding of the concept. By such, we can explain early observations in more detail, and we can improve our fundamental understanding.