Environment-functionality-cost balance of an analytical reagent

Green chemistry was originally mainly driven by organic synthetic approaches, but green analyt-ics is slowly following, searching for ways to reduce volumes, cost and ecotoxicity of analytically used chemicals and lowering energy usage. The emphasis is currently focussed on techniques such as miniaturization, on-line spectroscopy, or the chemicals directly used in the analytical process, e.g. chromatographic solvents. However, almost no attention has yet been paid to the an-alytical reagents, and more specifically, the way they are produced and used in greening analyt-ics. In the analysis of low level analytes, such as peptides in the biomedical area, a prominent challenge is their possible adsorption to glass or plastic consumables used during analysis. In this research, a recently developed anti-adsorption diluent based on bovine serum albumin, acetoni-trile and formic acid, was investigated towards greener alternatives. The 12 principles of green chemistry were applied, but also the anti-adsorption functionality and cost-efficiency were taken into account to obtain a more holistic sustainability view. A Derringer desirability function was used to convert these 3 aspects into one overall 'fit-for-purpose' score, from which it was con-cluded that replacing acetonitrile by (denatured) ethanol is the most optimal choice, whilst main-taining bovine serum albumin as protein source.

Automated summary

Green chemistry initially focused on organic synthetic approaches, and now green analytics is also seeking ways to reduce volumes, cost, and ecotoxicity of analytically used chemicals and lower energy usage. The current emphasis is on techniques like miniaturization, on-line spectroscopy, and chemicals used in the analytical process. However, little attention has been given to the production and use of analytical reagents in greening analytics.