Environmentally sustainable analytical quality by design aided RP-HPLC method for the estimation of brilliant blue in commercial food samples employing a green-ultrasound-assisted extraction technique

Abstract

Abstract Brilliant blue FCF (E133) is a commonly employed azo synthetic dye in the food industry owing to its visually appealing color and widespread consumer acceptance. The health risks associated with the excessive use of brilliant blue necessitate prioritizing eco-friendly methods for its quantification. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate an analytical quality by design (AQbD) based eco-friendly high-performance liquid chromatography method adhering to the 12 principles of green chemistry followed by ultrasound-assisted extraction of food samples and confirming them using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Rotatable central composite designs (CCDs) were utilized to optimize the chromatographic parameters. The separation was achieved on a Phenomenex column (Luna C18, 250 mm × 4.6 mm, i.d. 5 μm) employing ethanol and acetate buffer as a mobile phase in the ratio 25:75 (v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL·min−1 with detection at 626 nm, which resulted in elution of brilliant blue at 2.692 min. The developed method fulfills the predetermined requirements of linearity, accuracy, sensitivity, and reproducibility at the specified working point. The green analytical procedure index, analytical eco scale, and analytical greenness metrics were used for assessing greenness, which yielded the most benign outcomes. In the future, this research could lead to the adoption and enhancement of eco-friendly robust AQbD methodologies for evaluating various food colorants, utilizing green solvents.