This article is an overview of current methodologies for the determina
tion of phenolic compounds in various water types. Classical approache
s such as liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) or liquid-solid extraction (L
SE) combined with gas or liquid chromatography are reviewed as well as
emerging techniques such as capillary zone electrophoresis. The poten
tial of immunoassays and biosensors as complementary approaches to chr
omatographic methods is shown.