Emerging techniques for the extraction and determination of phenylurea herbicides in the environment

The application of herbicides is considered crucial for ensuring high and stable agricultural productivity. As one of the most widely used herbicide categories, phenylurea herbicides (PUHs) effectively prevent weed-induced damage to crops and have been extensively employed in contemporary agricultural practices. However, it cannot be overlooked that the extensive use of PUHs may lead to unintended long-term detrimental effects on the environment due to their multiple sources and persistent residues in ecological systems, particularly in soil and water, thereby posing a potential threat to human health. Therefore, given the metabolic complexity of PUHs in ecological environments and their presence at trace-level and dynamic concentrations, it has become imperative to develop efficient sample pretreatment techniques and analytical detection methodologies for complex environmental matrices. Herein, pretreatment methods for the extraction, enrichment, and preconcentration of PUHs as well as the strategies for their screening, identification, and quantitation developed in the past 5-10 years have been reviewed. Furthermore, recent advancements in various methodologies are summarized, with the characteristics and advantages of each approach included. Future perspectives regarding pretreatment and detection techniques for PUHs are also discussed, aiming to provide valuable references for monitoring hazardous substances in the environment.