Recent advances in emerging application of functional materials in sample pretreatment methods for liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of plant growth regulators: A mini-review

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are a class of small molecular compounds, which can remarkably affect the physiological process of plants. The complex plant matrix along with a wide polarity range and unstable chemical properties of PGRs hinder their trace analysis. In order to obtain a reliable and accurate result, a sample pretreatment process must be carried out, including eliminating the interference of the matrix effect and pre-concentrating the analytes. In recent years, the research of functional materials in sample pretreatment has experienced rapid growth. This review comprehensively overviews recent development in functional materials covering one-dimensional materials, two-dimensional materials, and three-dimensional materials applied in the pretreatment of PGRs before liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Besides, the advantages and limitations of the above functionalized enrichment materials are discussed, and their future trends have been prospected. The work could be helpful to bring new insights for researchers engaged in functional materials in sample pretreatment of PGRs based on LC-MS.