Emerging deep eutectic solvents for organic contaminant analysis in food and environmental matrices: A review

Organic contaminants, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and natural toxins, enter the environment and food chain, posing health risks. Their trace-level analysis in complex matrices requires rapid, selective, and preferably green extraction methods. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as attractive alternatives to volatile organic solvents. Recently, “emerging” subclasses of DESs, namely switchable DESs (SDESs), magnetic DESs (MDESs), and supramolecular DESs (SUPRADESs), have expanded the toolbox. SDESs enable disperser-free phase switching, MDESs simplify magnet-assisted phase separation, and SUPRADESs enhance extraction performance through host–guest inclusion. This review discusses their key physicochemical characteristics and representative applications in food and environmental analysis. Limitations (e.g., weak magnetic responsiveness of MDESs), practical considerations (e.g., compatibility with analytical instruments), and future perspectives (e.g., rational solvent design, integration of complementary DES systems) are also outlined to provide guidance for the continued development of emerging DESs in organic contaminant analysis.