Funari Cristiano S, Carneiro Renato L, Cavalheiro Alberto J, Hilder Emily F
Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), School of Physical Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 75, Hobart 7001, Australia.
Department of Chemistry, Federal University of São Carlos, 13565-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.
J Chromatogr A. 2014 Aug 8;1354:34-42. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2014.05.018. Epub 2014 May 14.
It is now recognized that analytical chemistry must also be a target for green principles, in particular chromatographic methods which typically use relatively large volumes of hazardous organic solvents. More generally, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is employed routinely for quality control of complex mixtures in various industries. Acetonitrile and methanol are the most commonly used organic solvents in HPLC, but they generate an impact on the environment and can have a negative effect on the health of analysts. Ethanol offers an exciting alternative as a less toxic, biodegradable solvent for HPLC. In this work we demonstrate that replacement of acetonitrile with ethanol as the organic modifier for HPLC can be achieved without significantly compromising analytical performance. This general approach is demonstrated through the specific example analysis of a complex plant extract. A benchmark method employing acetonitrile for the analysis of Bidens pilosa extract was statistically optimized using the Green Chromatographic Fingerprinting Response (GCFR) which includes factors relating to separation performance and environmental parameters. Methods employing ethanol at 30 and 80°C were developed and compared with the reference method regarding their performance of separation (GCFR) as well as by a new metric, Comprehensive Metric to Compare Liquid Chromatography Methods (CM). The fingerprint with ethanol at 80°C was similar to or better than that with MeCN according to GCFR and CM. This demonstrates that temperature may be used to replace harmful solvents with greener ones in HPLC, including for solvents with significantly different physiochemical properties and without loss in separation performance. This work offers a general approach for the chromatographic analysis of complex samples without compromising green analytical chemistry principles.
现在人们认识到，分析化学也必须成为绿色化学原则的目标，特别是色谱方法，这类方法通常使用相对大量的有害有机溶剂。更普遍地说，高效液相色谱法（HPLC）在各行业复杂混合物的质量控制中被常规使用。乙腈和甲醇是HPLC中最常用的有机溶剂，但它们会对环境产生影响，并且可能对分析人员的健康产生负面影响。乙醇作为一种毒性较小、可生物降解的HPLC溶剂，提供了一种令人兴奋的替代选择。在这项工作中，我们证明用乙醇替代乙腈作为HPLC的有机改性剂可以在不显著影响分析性能的情况下实现。这种通用方法通过对一种复杂植物提取物的具体实例分析得到了证明。采用乙腈分析鬼针草提取物的基准方法通过绿色色谱指纹图谱响应（GCFR）进行了统计优化，该响应包括与分离性能和环境参数相关的因素。开发了在30℃和80℃下使用乙醇的方法，并将其与参考方法在分离性能（GCFR）以及一种新的指标——比较液相色谱方法的综合指标（CM）方面进行了比较。根据GCFR和CM，80℃下使用乙醇得到的指纹图谱与使用乙腈得到的指纹图谱相似或更好。这表明在HPLC中，可以利用温度用更环保的溶剂替代有害溶剂，包括对于理化性质差异显著的溶剂，且不会损失分离性能。这项工作为复杂样品的色谱分析提供了一种通用方法，同时又不违背绿色分析化学原则。
