Analytical greenness metrics for metabolomics

Metabolomics is rapidly evolving, addressing analytical chemistry challenges in the qualification and quantitation of metabolites in extremely complex samples. Targeted metabolomics involves the extraction and analysis of target compounds, often present at extremely low concentrations, whilst untargeted metabolomics requires the use of sophisticated analytical techniques to deal with the simultaneous identification or quantitation of hundreds of compounds. Given the high energy consumption and excessive amounts of waste generated by metabolomics studies, greenness metrics are essential to account for sustainable development.

To determine the applicability of the Analytical GREEnness calculator (AGREE) in evaluating the analytical greenness of metabolomics methods. Specifically, the analytical protocols of 16 state-of-art metabolomics studies, including nine targeted and seven untargeted metabolomics studies, are fully dissected, and detailed greenness parameters for each procedure are rationally estimated.

The calculated AGREE metrics unequivocally show the main weaknesses of greenness in current research, and guidelines for sustainable practices in metabolomics are provided. The results indicate that offline sample preparation and the lack of automation and miniaturization are key areas that must be addressed to make metabolomics more sustainable. Important aspects that should be considered include the complexity of sample preparation procedures, the use of toxic reagents and derivatizing agents, the amount of waste generated, and sample throughput.