A green evaluation of ecstasy determination methods by using different greenness criteria

The determination of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in seized samples, by employing five different analytical procedures, has been used to illustrate the differences in their greenness classification depending on the selected evaluation criteria. A set of seventeen MDMA seized samples were analysed by: a) liquid chromatography with diode array detection (LC-DAD), b) gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID), c) ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), d) total attenuated reflectance mid-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and e) diffuse reflectance near infrared spectroscopy (DR-NIR). The studied analytical procedures provided statistically comparable MDMA concentration values. However, the greenness scores of analytical procedures using the three criteria of Green Analytical Eco-Scale, the Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI) and the Analytical GREEnness metric approach (AGREE) provided significant differences but in all cases ATRFTIR and DR-NIR were the greenest methods followed by IMS, GC and LC. The aforementioned greenness aspects are discussed in this study.

Automated summary

This study used five different analytical procedures to determine MDMA in seized samples and compared their greenness classification based on selected evaluation criteria. Seventeen MDMA samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography with diode array detection (LC-DAD), gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID), ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), total attenuated reflectance mid-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and diffuse reflectance near infrared spectroscopy (DR-NIR). The analyzed procedures provided statistically comparable MDMA concentration values. However, different greenness scores were obtained using the Green Analytical Eco-Scale, the Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI), and the Analytical GREEnness metric approach (AGREE), with ATRFTIR and DR-NIR identified as the greenest methods followed by IMS, GC, and LC. The greenness aspects discussed in this study are significant.