Greenness evaluation metric for analytical methods and software.

Abstract

The focus of green analytical chemistry (GAC) is to minimize the negative impacts of analytical procedures on human safety, human health, and the environment. Several factors, such as the reagents used, sample collection, sample processing, instruments, energy consumed, and the quantities of hazardous materials and waste generated during analytical procedures, need to be considered in the evaluation of the greenness of analytical assays. In this study, we propose a greenness evaluation metric for analytical methods (GEMAM). The new greenness metric is simple, flexible, and comprehensive. The evaluation criteria are based on both the 12 principles of GAC (SIGNIFICANCE) and the 10 factors of sample preparation, and the results are presented on a 0-10 scale. The GEMAM calculation process is easy to perform, and its results are easy to interpret. The output of GEMAM is a pictogram that can provide both qualitative and quantitative information based on color and number.