Aquatic passive samplers have been extensively tested and deployed in the field over the past two decades. Among these devices is relatively recently developed the Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler (POCIS) for isolation of hydrophilic organic micropollutants in aquatic environment. The use of POCIS allows the measurement of low and fluctuating trace concentrations of such micropollutants, which is often troublesome using classical sampling. In this review, POCIS applications based on numerous articles to assess the suitability of these devices for use in environmental analytics information were summarized. Additionally, the possibilities of using POCIS for the isolation of complex chemical mixtures in order to highlight the high potential of this devices were presented. The types of sorbents used in POCIS, exposure duration and sampling media are juxtapose in this review. Based on the existing literature, attention was paid to both promising opportunities but also to limitations of passive methods.
Keywords: Aquatic environment; bioassay; monitoring of micropollutants; passive techniques; performance and reference compounds; polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS); sampling rates (Rs).