Greening Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography Methods Using Alternative Solvents for Pharmaceutical Analysis

Abstract

The greening of analytical methods has gained increasing interest in the field of pharmaceutical analysis to reduce environmental impacts and improve the health safety of analysts. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) is the most widely used analytical technique involved in pharmaceutical drug development and manufacturing, such as the quality control of bulk drugs and pharmaceutical formulations, as well as the analysis of drugs in biological samples. However, RP-HPLC methods commonly use large amounts of organic solvents and generate high quantities of waste to be disposed, leading to some issues in terms of ecological impact and operator safety. In this context, greening HPLC methods is becoming highly desirable. One strategy to reduce the impact of hazardous solvents is to replace classically used organic solvents (i.e., acetonitrile and methanol) with greener ones. So far, ethanol has been the most often used alternative organic solvent. Others strategies have followed, such as the use of totally aqueous mobile phases, micellar liquid chromatography, and ionic liquids. These approaches have been well developed, as they do not require equipment investments and are rather economical. This review describes and critically discusses the recent advances in greening RP-HPLC methods dedicated to pharmaceutical analysis based on the use of alternative solvents.

Development and Validation of an HPLC Method Using a Less Hazardous Mobile Phase for the Determination of some β‐Lactams

“…Based on literature, high concentrations of RTILs can be added to totally aqueous mobile phases as an alternative to polluting organic modifiers . Hence, the preliminary aim of this study was investigate HPLC condition using an RTIL‐containing aqueous mobile phase.…”

“…Furthermore, use of ethanol in the mobile phase is considered a promising green chemistry strategy because it is economical and follows a conventional development in RP‐HPLC …”

“…RTILs are considered silanol‐blocking agents, and are therefore generally used in small quantities in RP‐HPLC mobile phases to improve chromatographic performance . Han et al .…”

Fundamental Properties of Packing Materials for Liquid Chromatography

“…ILs are proposed for greener, faster, and simpler sample preparation [52]. The recent advances in greener RP-HPLC methods dedicated to pharmaceutical analysis are based on the use of alternative solvents [53].…”

A Reversed-Phase HPLC Method for Determination of Osteopontin in Infant Formula

“…Nevertheless, still, most HPLC analyses use flammable, volatile, toxic and non-degradable solvents, like ACN. The inherent toxicity of ACN and its waste disposal issue raised a big concern, and therefore the analytical community has recommended exploring alternatives to replace polluting solvents with cleaner ones [22,23]. In this regard, some researchers suggested using commonly accepted green solvents in RP-HPLC, which include acetone, ethanol, isopropanol, and ethyl acetate, along with other various aqueous mobile phases [22,[24][25][26].…”