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Ionic liquids in green analytical chemistry—are they that good and green enough?

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Abstract

The widespread use of ionic liquids (ILs) as greener solvents in analytical sciences, especially in sample pretreatment, has focused attention on exploiting their enormous potential, not only on eliminating and improving the drawbacks faced by scientists. These ionic compounds with unique physicochemical properties can be tuned through smart synthesis, combining cations and anions, so that the compound exhibits excellent properties for its intended purpose. Ionic liquids are rightly referred to as designer solvents. Validation of a newly proposed analytical methods using ionic liquids, either in sample preparation or in further analysis, is a critical process to demonstrate that a particular analytical method is fit for purpose and provides reliable and accurate results. In addition, this article specially addressed the potential toxicity of ionic liquids with the modest goal of assisting researchers in this field by expanding their target areas.

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Acknowledgements

This article is supported by the Study Group Sample Preparation of the Division of Analytical Chemistry of the European Chemical Society (DAC-EuChemS).

Funding

This research was funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia (contracts: 451–03-47/2023–01/200161, 451–03-47/2023–01/200125 and 451–03-68/2023–14/200017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, Vojvode Stepe 450, Belgrade, Serbia

    Slavica Ražić

  2. Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, Novi Sad, Serbia

    Slobodan Gadžurić

  3. Laboratory of Physics, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Mike Petrović Alasa 12-14, Belgrade, Serbia

    Tatjana Trtić-Petrović

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  1. Slavica Ražić
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Correspondence to Slavica Ražić.

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Ražić, S., Gadžurić, S. & Trtić-Petrović, T. Ionic liquids in green analytical chemistry—are they that good and green enough?. Anal Bioanal Chem 416, 2023–2029 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-05045-3

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