Tools to Evaluate the Eco-efficiency of Analytical Methods in the Context of Green and White Analytical Chemistry: A Review

Abstract

Background: The release of a product in the consumer market requires an analysis by quality control. This sector makes use of reliable analytical methods, by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), spectrophotometry in the ultraviolet and visible regions (UV-Vis), spectrophotometry in the infrared region (IR) or thin layer chromatography (TLC), for example, to reach a result. The analysis conditions of most of these analytical methods currently still use toxic reagents, generate a greater amount of waste, sample preparation has more steps, the need for instrumentation and consumables in greater quantity, generating a cost and impact on health and the environment greater than if there were adoption of the Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) and the White Analytical Chemistry (WAC). Objective/Methods: The objective of this review is to show the relationship of analytical choices for current pharmaceutical analyzes with the GAC and the WAC. Results: Analytical methods can be evaluated for greenness and whiteness using tools such as the National Environmental Method Index (NEMI), Eco-Scale Assessment (ESA), Analytical Greenness Metric (AGREE) and Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI). Conclusion: The use of NEMI, ESA, AGREE and GAPI tools brings the objective evidence needed to discuss the greenness and whiteness of an analytical method, leaving the subjective level. Furthermore, semi or quantitative data facilitate the choice of an analytical method and its conditions, when the target is the concern with eco-efficiency.