Greenness, whiteness and blueness assessment of high-performance liquid chromatographic methods for determination of cannabinoids in cosmetics

Abstract

The increasing interest in cannabinoids for their therapeutic properties led to their integration into cosmetics, emphasizing the need for greener and precise analytical methods. The study identified chromatographic methods for cannabinoid analysis in cosmetics and assessed greenness, whiteness and blueness of methods. The greenness of identified analytical methods was assessed using the Greenness Index with Spider Diagram, Green Solvents Selecting Tool (GSST), Analytical Eco-scale and carbon footprint calculation. Ethyl acetate was identified as the most environmentally friendly solvent when using the Greenness Index and GSST, while ethanol scored lowest with the Greenness Index and dichloromethane with the GSST. Analytical Eco-scale ranked eight out of the eleven evaluated methods as having excellent greenness. The methods were further evaluated for applicability and practicality using the Red Green Blue 12 model and Blue Applicability Grade Index (BAGI). Whiteness scores ranged from 61.6 to 88.8, with most methods considered to be highly applicable for real-world use. The practicality, assessed via BAGI, indicated the necessity for methods analyzing multiple compounds per run and employing efficient sample preparation to improve operational feasibility. Findings highlight the importance of integrating green analytical chemistry principles and metrics for development of green and efficient cannabinoid analysis in cosmetics. Incorporation of green, white and blue assessments is important for environmentally conscious and practical analytical methods, while ensuring industry preparedness to meet regulatory requirements as the field of cannabinoid analysis continues to advance. Further work should focus on solvent minimization, energy efficiency, and method optimization to balance ecological responsibility with analytical practicality.