Natural/bio-based sorbents as greener extractive materials for endocrine disrupting compounds in samples of different matrix composition

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are a group of chemicals that interfere with the endocrine system, leading to adverse effects on human health and the environment. Increasing concerns over the EDCs presence in various environmental compartments has driven the search for greener extraction materials. Recently, the use of polymers of natural origin (biopolymers) has been demonstrated to be an effective and promising research direction due to their undeniable advantages over synthetic polymers. In this review, strategies for cellulose, chitin, and chitosan functionalization and their applicability for numerous microextraction techniques have been widely discussed. Following the trend related to the reuse of waste, various agricultural wastes that were employed for the isolation and enrichment of EDCs are described. The benefits and limitations of using natural sorbents have been highlighted.