**4. Conclusions**

MSFIA is undoubtedly a suitable automation tool for implementation of environmental analysis. Considering the examples presented here, the proof of concept has been given, shown by application to a large suite of species, comprehending nutrients and pollutants in several environmental matrices. The determination throughputs attained are suitable for most applications sought in environmental monitoring schemes and field deployment is possible for many of the MSFIA systems developed, as long as periodic reagent refilling is guaranteed.

Automation and integration of sample treatment to instrumental quantification of analytes was successfully demonstrated, profiting from the multichannel operation of MSFIA equipment. However, some unique features provided by MSFIA are underexploited for environmental analysis. Recent work regarding LOV-BI-MSFIA coupled to chromatography are still in its infancy and will certainly grow into more reliable, comprehensive analyzers for monitoring of emerging pollutants.
