Trends of pretreatment methods for acrylamide and related substances in food

Acrylamide related substances (AAs), including N-methylacrylamide and N-hydroxymethylacrylamide, are highly polar, low-molecular-weight organic compounds that have raised significant food safety concerns due to their prevalence in thermally processed foods. AAs exhibit potential neurotoxicity and AA itself also demonstrates reproductive toxicity and possible carcinogenic effects. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified AA as a Group 2 A probable human carcinogen, underscoring the health risks associated with long-term dietary exposure to AAs. Consequently, efficient and reliable sample pretreatment methods for AA and related substances are essential to accurately assess dietary risk and optimize food-processing techniques. This paper systematically reviews recent advances (2018-2024) in pretreatment approaches for AAs in food matrices. Pretreatment techniques for AAs include commonly used methods such as liquid-liquid extraction and cloud point extraction, as well as more advanced approaches such as liquid-phase microextraction, solid-phase extraction, solid-phase microextraction, matrix solid-phase dispersion, and the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method. Through a comprehensive summary and comparison of these techniques, recent advancements have been found to primarily focus on two key aspects: the development of novel extraction solvents/materials and the integration of automated systems. Recent advancements have significantly improved extraction efficiency and purification performance while reducing matrix co-extraction, whereas the latter has substantially decreased manual labor, minimized operational errors, and shortened overall pretreatment time. Furthermore, this review provides insightful perspectives on future research directions, highlighting the need for standardized analytical protocols and developing miniaturized, portable pretreatment devices to meet the growing demands for food safety monitoring.