Green miniaturized technologies in analytical and bioanalytical chemistry

Green miniaturized technologies are the need of the hour which not only facilitates the downscaling of conventional analytical or bioanalytical systems but also serves as the driving force towards safeguarding our environment from toxic and harmful chemicals. Additionally, the rapid advancements in the microfabrication and nanofabrication approaches lead to a great boost in the technologies such as microfluidic devices or lab-on-a-chip (LOC). Accordingly, the present review provides a comprehensive overview of the green aspects of miniaturized systems for greener and cost-effective analytical processes including the reduction of volume of samples/solvents by employing LOC-based microextraction techniques; replacement of toxic solvents with green solvents including subcritical water, supercritical fluid, deep eutectic solvents, bioderived solvents and ionic liquids; minimization of generated waste by using microfluidic devices where lower amount of sample and solvents are utilized. The miniaturization of the overall analytical process is also discussed in terms of the miniaturization of several individual steps such as miniaturization of sample preparation techniques, analytical separation techniques, detection techniques and the automation of all these individual stages which will significantly reduce the energy requirements, risk factors and the overall cost of the analytical system. Various crucial challenges that hinder the realization of the commercialization of green miniaturized technology based LOC systems are also discussed in details along with the advancements in green miniaturized technologies which are being utilized in analytical and bioanalytical chemistry. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.