Green Analytical Chemistry

We discuss the origins and the fundamentals of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC), based on the literature published about clean, environmentally-friendly or GAC methods. We pay special attention to the strategies and the tools available to make sample-pretreatment and analytical methods greener. We consider that the main principles are to replace toxic reagents, to miniaturize and to automate methods, making it possible to reduce dramatically the amounts of reagents consumed and wastes generated, so reducing or avoiding side effects of analytical methods. We also consider on-line decontamination or passivation of wastes to be of special interest in making analytical chemistry sustainable.     

From capillaries to microchips,green electrophoretic features for enantiomeric separations: A decade review (2013–2022)

Enantioseparation by the electromigration-based method is well-established and widely discussed in the literature. Electrophoretic strategies have been used to baseline resolve complex enantiomeric mixtures, typically using a selector substance into the background electrolyte (BGE) from capillaries to microchips. Along with developing new materials/substances for enantioseparations, it is the concern about the green analytical chemistry (GAC) principles for method development and application. This review article brings a last decade's update on the publications involving enantioseparation by electrophoresis for capillary and microchip systems. It also brings a critical discussion on GAC principles and new green metrics in the context of developing an enantioseparation method. Chemical and green features of native and modified cyclodextrins are discussed. Still, given the employment of greener substances, ionic liquids and deep-eutectic solvents are highlighted, and some new selectors are proposed. For all the mentioned selectors, green features about their production, application, and disposal are considered. Sample preparation and BGE composition in GAC perspective, as well as greener derivatization possibilities, were also addressed. Therefore, one of the goals of this review is to aid the electrophoretic researchers to look where they have not.     

Green chemistry: Analytical and chromatography

Nowadays, the environment protection and the personal health and safety are given more consideration in the field of chemistry, thus resulting in an increased number of published researches about how to work according to green instructions, to follow up the recommendations of environmental agencies and to obtain better clean handling of chemistry. In this review, green chemistry definition, importance, principles, and some recent applications in the field of green chemistry were discussed. In addition, the review summarizes the evolution of green analytical chemistry (GAC) with its specific principles and how to make the analytical process more environmentally benign with special emphasis on recent applications of GAC. Moreover, the green chromatography, its methods, and some of its applications were outlined. Finally, different techniques available up till now for the assessment of greening of the methods were also presented.     

State of the art of environmentally friendly sample preparation approaches for determination of PBDEs and metabolites in environmental and biological samples: A critical review

Green chemistry principles for developing methodologies have gained attention in analytical chemistry in recent decades. A growing number of analytical techniques have been proposed for determination of organic persistent pollutants in environmental and biological samples. In this light, the current review aims to present state-of-the-art sample preparation approaches based on green analytical principles proposed for the determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and metabolites (OH-PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs) in environmental and biological samples. Approaches to lower the solvent consumption and accelerate the extraction, such as pressurized liquid extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, and ultrasound-assisted extraction, are discussed in this review. Special attention is paid to miniaturized sample preparation methodologies and strategies proposed to reduce organic solvent consumption. Additionally, extraction techniques based on alternative solvents (surfactants, supercritical fluids, or ionic liquids) are also commented in this work, even though these are scarcely used for determination of PBDEs. In addition to liquid-based extraction techniques, solid-based analytical techniques are also addressed. The development of greener, faster and simpler sample preparation approaches has increased in recent years (2003–2013). Among green extraction techniques, those based on the liquid phase predominate over those based on the solid phase (71% vs. 29%, respectively). For solid samples, solvent assisted extraction techniques are preferred for leaching of PBDEs, and liquid phase microextraction techniques are mostly used for liquid samples. Likewise, green characteristics of the instrumental analysis used after the extraction and clean-up steps are briefly discussed.     

Green analytical chemistry approaches on environmental analysis

Green analytical chemistry is a comprehensive perspective that aims to reduce or eliminate the toxic and harmful solvents, reagents, and techniques in the preparation, pre-treatment, and determination steps of an analysis process. With the increase in environmental pollution in recent years, awareness has been increasing in terms of both the contamination analysis of environmental sources and the more environmentally friendly analysis methods. This review evaluates the solvents such as bio-based solvents and deep eutectic solvents, nanomaterials synthesized by non-toxic methods, the greener changes in the extraction methods, and chromatographic techniques considering the most recent studies. In particular, trying to make the methods used to analyze environmental samples safer and less toxic is an important point that overlaps with the green approach, which aims to minimize environmental pollution. In this context, this review provides information on green analytical chemistry-based environmental applications covering the last ten years so that the applications of this approach can be examined and understood in more detail and can be applied by other researchers.     

Recent advances of green pretreatment techniques for quality control of natural products

A few advancing technologies for natural product analysis have been widely proposed, which focus on decreasing energy consumption and developing an environmentally sustainable manner. These green sample pretreatment and analysis methods following the green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) criteria have the advantage of improving the strategy of chemical analyses, promoting sustainable development to analytical laboratories, and reducing the negative effects of analysis experiments on the environment. A few minimized extraction methodologies have been proposed for replacing the traditional methods in the quality evaluation of natural products, mainly including solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and liquid phase microextraction (LPME). These procedures not only have no need for large numbers of samples and toxic reagent, but also spend a small amount of extraction and analytical time. This overview aims to list out the main green strategies on the application of quality evaluation and control for natural products in the past 3 years.     

Green analytical chemistry in sample preparation for determination of trace organic pollutants

The principles of green chemistry are applied to not only chemical engineering and synthesis, but also increasingly analytical chemistry. We describe environment-friendly analytical techniques applied to isolate and to enrich trace organic pollutants from solid and aqueous samples. Amounts of organic solvents used in analytical laboratories are reduced by applying solventless extraction, extraction using other types of solvent, assisted solvent extraction and miniaturized analytical systems.     

Green chemistry and the evolution of flow analysis. A review

Flow analysis has achieved its majority as a well-established tool to solve analytical problems. Evolution of flow-based approaches has been analyzed by diverse points of view, including historical aspects, the commutation concept and the impact on analytical methodologies. In this overview, the evolution of flow analysis towards green analytical chemistry is demonstrated by comparing classical procedures implemented with different flow approaches. The potential to minimize reagent consumption and waste generation and the ability to implement processes unreliable in batch to replace toxic chemicals are also emphasized. Successful applications of greener approaches in flow analysis are also discussed, focusing on the last 10 years.     

The current state of analytical control in Lithuania

In Lithuania research and development in chemical analysis are concentrated in scientific institutes and universities. The main fields of interest focus on biosensors, electrochemical sensors, sampling techniques and methods, study of atomization processes in spectrochemical analysis and noise evaluation in analytical measurements. Some laboratories also take part in international environmental monitoring programmes. There are about 50 researchers at the Ph.D. level engaged in analytical chemistry and several hundred technicians specialized in the field of analytical control. About one hundred chemical laboratories are active in scientific institutes, universities and factories. Specialized laboratories of chemical analysis are at the disposal of Environmental Control and Health Protection Departments and forensic investigation organizations. So far no laboratories are accredited according to the ISO 9000 norms. Special courses on analytical chemistry are offered at a few schools of higher education in the country. Only at the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the University of Vilnius specialized programmes are available to postgraduate students working towards a Ph.D. to improve their skills in current techniques of analytical chemistry. Recently the Technical Committee TC-16 for Chemical Analysis was formed within the standardization system of Lithuania. Its main activities are centered on issues such as national terminology, certified reference materials (CRMs), analytical methods and analytical quality assurance. There are numerous problems related to national terminology, the preparation of special documents in the field of analytical control and the production of regional environmental CRMs. Problems, also arise in obtaining and using CRMs for analytical instrument calibration and validation.     

新工科背景下分析化学中质量保证和质量控制的教学改革探究*

通过对目前分析化学教学中存在问题的分析,探究了新工科背景下分析化学专业中关于质量保证和质量控制方面的教学改革,提出了增设“分析化学中的质量保证和质量控制”或者类似的课程的建议,指出分析化学的教学应该围绕整个分析过程展开,并将分析化学中的质量保证和质量控制知识融入分析全过程中,注重理论课程与实践课程相互结合的同时更加强调应用性,增强学生的实践能力和分析问题、解决问题的能力。此外,分析化学教学重在“分析”,要与分析实验室/检测机构保持紧密联系,应建立以市场为导向、以技术为核心的教学活动,从而实现为社会不断培养与时俱进的分析人才的教育目标。     

Iodination of vanillin and subsequent Suzuki-Miyaura coupling: two-step synthetic sequence teaching green chemistry principles

ABSTRACT

A two-step synthetic sequence was developed for the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory using vanillin as the starting material. The multi-step synthesis was designed to replace two traditional experiments teaching electrophilic aromatic substitution and carbon–carbon bond forming chemistries with greener transformations. Vanillin is iodinated using Oxone® and potassium iodide in refluxing water, and students are tasked with determining the position of aromatic substitution using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The tan, shiny, pleasant-smelling iodovanillin is subsequently used in an aqueous Suzuki-Miyaura reaction with para-methylphenylboronic acid; strategically chosen to afford a second instructive ¹H NMR spectrum. Both conventional heating and microwave conditions can be employed for the palladium-catalyzed reaction. This synthetic sequence, successfully performed over multiple semesters by hundreds of students, models green chemistry principles through the use of a potentially renewable feedstock and safer reagents, the choice of water as a safer reaction solvent, and the employment of a catalytic reaction. Additionally, the sequence minimizes waste in teaching labs through use of an intermediate product.     

统计质量保证技术在分析测试实验室内部质量控制中的应用

对通过统计质量保证（SQA）技术进行分析测试实验室内部质量控制（IQC）的方法作了初探。研究结果表明,SQA技术的应用能保证实验室始终处于统计受控状态,确保测试数据的有效性,有利于分析测试实验室质量保证活动的开展。     

Quality control in integrated human exposure monitoring of lead and cadmium

Summary The Human Exposure Assessment Location, HEAL, Project is implemented by WHO/UNEP in close collaboration with national agencies in different countries. In a first phase methods for exposure monitoring of Pb, Cd, DDT, HCB and NO₂ will be tested in China, Japan, Sweden, USA and Yugoslavia, possibly also Brazil and India. The Pb/Cd study, which involves measurements of lead and cadmium in blood, duplicate diets, feces and inhaled air, collected by a group of non-smoking women in each participating country, is coordinated by a Technical Coordinating Centre (TCC) in Sweden. In order to assure accuracy and comparability of data an extensive quality assurance programme has been developed. Quality control (QC) samples for lead and cadmium in blood, feces, air filters, dust and diets have been prepared. Sets of 4–6 External Quality Control (EQC) samples, the metal concentrations of which are unknown to the laboratories, and 1–2 Internal Quality Control (IQC) samples with stated Pb/Cd-levels, have been distributed. The analytical performance evaluation is based on linear regression analysis of reported results (y) versus reference values (x). Criteria for how much the regression line may deviate (Maximum Accepted Deviation, MAD) from the ideal line (y=x) have been developed. A power of 90% is employed, which means that the actual acceptance interval for the regression line is slightly narrower than the MAD-interval. This procedure gives an estimate of the maximum systematic errors involved in the analysis. The MAD criteria for the evaluation of QC results are based on the data quality requirements as well as the feasibility of the analytical techniques.The results of the first QC rounds show that good analytical performance on one QC sample is no guarantee for good results at higher or lower concentrations or good results with other types of samples. Furthermore, analytical performance may vary with time.

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Qualitätskontrolle bei der integrierten Überwachung der menschlichen Belastung mit Blei und Cadmium

     

Analytical chemistry of the persistent organic pollutants identified in the Stockholm Convention: A review

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are major environmental concern due to their persistence, long-range transportability, bio-accumulation and potentially adverse effects on living organisms. Analytical chemistry plays an essential role in the measurement of POPs and provides important information on their distribution and environmental transformations. Much effort has been devoted during the last two decades to the development of faster, safer, more reliable and more sensitive analytical techniques for these pollutants. Since the Stockholm Convention (SC) on POPs was adopted 12 years ago, analytical methods have been extensively developed. This review article introduces recent analytical techniques and applications for the determination of POPs in environmental and biota samples, and summarizes the extraction, separation and instrumental analyses of the halogenated POPs. Also, this review covers important aspects for the analyses of SC POPs (e.g. lipid determination and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC)), and finally discusses future trends for improving the POPs analyses and for potential new POPs.     

Using a process-centered approach to minimize the effort of compliance

 The complexity of different quality standards can, in principle, be covered by different approaches and strategies. In-depth process mapping of quality control (QC) work streams was used by the analytical laboratories of Lonza AG to show up the principle differences in being compliant to different quality systems. The results identified two main drivers for all necessary actions: process-related activities and infrastructure-related activities. In addition, a clear indication of the economic impact of these driving forces was gained, which led the laboratories to decide on a process-oriented approach. This approach has the advantage of being able to reflect the different demands of different quality assurance (QA) regulations within the same QC organizational structure. Following the process helps avoid unnecessary efforts in analytical work and represents a very economical approach, at the same time, providing high flexibility to react to different QA or customer demands. Received: 5 July 2002 Accepted: 12 November 2002 Acknowledgements The process-oriented approach resulted from many, very challenging discussions for which I would like to thank the staff of my organization (Analytics & QC), especially, the QA staff and the LIMS team. Presented at Analytica Conference, 23–26 April 2002, Munich, Germany Correspondence to B. Ciommer     

Analytical Chemistry in Modern Society: What we can Expect

Analytical chemistry today contributes many analytical techniques which are required in industry, environmental control, medical laboratories and other areas of society. However, increased portability and miniaturization has the potential to enable us to solve new problems such as the analysis of new matrices including the possibility to analyse even cellular compartments. In this development process it is also being attempted to produce instruments and techniques which can be used by non-specialists. The integration, in a recent future, of microanalytical systems into our water taps permitting to control the presence of contaminants or microanalytical systems to control our health profile are some examples of the future contribution of analytical chemistry to society which probably will change our life.     

Sample treatment in chromatography-based speciation of organometallic pollutants.

Speciation analysis is nowadays performed routinely in many laboratories to control the quality of the environment, food and health. Chemical speciation analyses generally include the study of different oxidation state of elements or individual organometallic compounds. The determination of the different chemical forms of elements is still an analytical challenge, since they are often unstable and concentrations in different matrices of interest are in the microg l(-1) or even in the ng l(-1) range (e.g., estuarine waters) or ng g(-1) in sediments and biological tissues. For this reason, sensitive and selective analytical atomic techniques are being used as available detectors for speciation, generally coupled with chromatography for the time-resolved introduction of analytes into the atomic spectrometer. The complexity of these instrumental couplings has a straightforward consequence on the duration of the analysis, but sample preparation to separate and transfer the chemical species present in the sample into a solution to be accepted readily by a chromatographic column is the more critical step of total analysis, and demands considerable operator skills and time cost. Traditionally, liquid-liquid extraction has been employed for sample treatment with serious disadvantages, such as consumption, disposal and long-term exposure to organic solvent. In addition, they are usually cumbersome and time-consuming. Therefore, the introduction of new reagents such as sodium tetraethylborate for the simultaneous derivatization of several elements has been proposed. Other possibilities are based in the implementation of techniques for efficient and accelerated isolation of species from the sample matrix. This is the case for microwave-assisted extraction, solid-phase extraction and microextraction, supercritical fluid extraction or pressurized liquid extraction, which offer new possibilities in species treatment, and the advantages of a drastic reduction of the extraction time and the embodiment into on-line flow analysis systems. This new generation of treatment techniques constitutes a good choice as fast extraction methods for feasible species-selective analysis of organometallic compounds under the picogram level, that can be used for national regulatory agencies, governmental and industrial quality control laboratories, and consequently, for manufacturers of analytical instrumentation.     

Ensuring the reliability of stable isotope ratio data—beyond the principle of identical treatment

The need for inter-laboratory comparability is crucial to facilitate the globalisation of scientific networks and the development of international databases to support scientific and criminal investigations. This article considers what lessons can be learned from a series of inter-laboratory comparison exercises organised by the Forensic Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (FIRMS) network in terms of reference materials (RMs), the management of data quality, and technical limitations. The results showed that within-laboratory precision (repeatability) was generally good but between-laboratory accuracy (reproducibility) called for improvements. This review considers how stable isotope laboratories can establish a system of quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA), emphasising issues of repeatability and reproducibility. For results to be comparable between laboratories, measurements must be traceable to the international δ-scales and, because isotope ratio measurements are reported relative to standards, a key aspect is the correct selection, calibration, and use of international and in-house RMs. The authors identify four principles which promote good laboratory practice. The principle of identical treatment by which samples and RMs are processed in an identical manner and which incorporates three further principles; the principle of identical correction (by which necessary corrections are identified and evenly applied), the principle of identical scaling (by which data are shifted and stretched to the international δ-scales), and the principle of error detection by which QC and QA results are monitored and acted upon. To achieve both good repeatability and good reproducibility it is essential to obtain RMs with internationally agreed δ-values. These RMs will act as the basis for QC and can be used to calibrate further in-house QC RMs tailored to the activities of specific laboratories. In-house QA standards must also be developed to ensure that QC-based calibrations and corrections lead to accurate results for samples. The δ-values assigned to RMs must be recorded and reported with all data. Reference materials must be used to determine what corrections are necessary for measured data. Each analytical sequence of samples must include both QC and QA materials which are subject to identical treatment during measurement and data processing. Results for these materials must be plotted, monitored, and acted upon. Periodically international RMs should be analysed as an in-house proficiency test to demonstrate results are accurate.