Sustainable alternatives in liquid chromatography. Applications in drug analysis

The development of sustainable and environmentally friendly analytical methodologies involves, among other objectives, the reduced consumption of reagents and solvents, as well as the reduction of the waste generated or the reuse of the same in a circular process. If there is one analytical technique that is more widely used in both pharmaceutical industry laboratories and control laboratories, it is liquid chromatography. In this work, a brief review is made about the strategies to be followed to achieve sustainable separation methodologies without renouncing the characteristics of sensitivity, selectivity, efficiency, precision and accuracy that accompany a solid and established technique such as HPLC. In addition, the use of stationary phases with superficially porous silica particles, “core-shell” type, which, due to their size and porosity characteristics, can lead to a saving of 50% in the volume of waste generated. Furthermore, the use of modified mobile phases with ionic liquids allows the reduction of analysis times with the aim of achieving an environmentally friendly chromatography. These alternatives are discussed in the context of drug analysis. Keywords: mobile phase additives; ionic liquids; superficially porous silica particles; anti-cancer drugs