Carboxylic acids as metal extractants

One of the problems in the extraction of trace elements is that matrix elements must usually be masked, involving the addition of large amounts of extra reagent and thus increasing the risk of contamination. If the maxtrix element is to be removed, an extraction system of high capacity is needed to avoid dilution effects. In this respect, long-chain or substituted carboxylic acids show great promise. A literature review on their use as metal extractants is presented.