Should we think about green or white analytical chemistry? Case study: Accelerated sample preparation using an ultrasonic bath for the simultaneous determination of Mn and Fe in beef

Javier Silva; Valery Bühl; Fiorella Iaquinta; Mariela Pistón

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20967

Should we think about green or white analytical chemistry? Case study: Accelerated sample preparation using an ultrasonic bath for the simultaneous determination of Mn and Fe in beef

Heliyon. 2023 Oct 13;9(10):e20967. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20967. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Javier Silva^{1

2}, Valery Bühl², Fiorella Iaquinta², Mariela Pistón²

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Program in Chemistry, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Avda. Gral. Flores 2124, Montevideo, Uruguay.
² Grupo de Análisis de Elementos Traza y Desarrollo de Estrategias Simples para Preparación de Muestras (GATPREM), Química Analítica (DEC), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Avda. Gral. Flores 2124, Montevideo, Uruguay.

Abstract

Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) metrics include a variety of criteria, such as the regent amounts and toxicity, energy consumption, generated waste, among others. The analytical greenness metric (AGREE) and its variant for sample preparation (AGREEprep) cover different aspects that contribute to the environmental sustainability of sample preparation. White Analytical Chemistry (WAC) considers not only environmental aspects but also analytical and practical aspects with a holistic vision based on a Red-Green-Blue color model. A case study is presented to assess the green and white profile of a method based on ultrasound-assisted extraction and determination of Mn and Fe in beef using microwave-induced plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (MP AES). The method was validated and resulted simple, fast without external heating using diluted acids. It was concluded that we should think in green sample preparation with the AGREEprep tool, as well as in white holistic assessments (WAC) as both constitute complementary tools.

Keywords: AGREE; AGREEprep; Food analysis; Green analytical chemistry; MP AES; Sample preparation; Ultrasonic bath; White analytical chemistry.