2022

Green chemistry and sustainability is becoming more and more important. For sure next generation scientists will give this the highest priority! Microextraction technologies are claimed to be green, but how green are they? Moreover, how green can they be, if all chemicals we use are ingredients we find in the kitchen, and all plastic consumables we use are washed in hot water and recycled? The answer you get from our latest paper published in Green Analytical Chemistry.

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In electromembrane extraction, we transfer ionized drug molecules form a blood sample, across a liquid membrane (oil membrane) and into pure water under the influence of an electrical field. The liquid membrane is a few microliters of organic solvent. Over the years, we have learned that the chemical properties of the solvent are very important; they control the type of substances that are extracted (selectivity), and the extraction speed (kinetics). Recently, we summarized the accumulated information we have from 15 years with experiments, and discussed this in the context of molecular interactions; how molecules “talk to each other” during their travel across the liquid membrane. The fundamental understanding of this is crucial for development of new applications… 

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As analysts, we use analytical chromatography in our daily research and teaching. For many students, this ensemble of techniques may however be somewhat of a “black box” performed by an instrument that offers little-to-no clues as to how it works. In collaboration with friendly organic chemists at our department, we have therefore published a paper with a laboratory exercise that literally puts the chromatography into the hands of the students. In the exercise, students get the opportunity to pack and prepare a preparative column, mix mobile phases, load and elute compounds, and perform a visual detection, all while learning about concepts of retention mechanisms, gradient elution, and differences between preparative and analytical chromatography. Interested in reading more?

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Science is continually developing and so is our understanding of how the liquid membrane in electromembrane extraction (EME) should be designed. In this overview article, we have taken a closer look into the organic solvents used as liquid membranes, and provide an update to our current understanding of the preferred properties of solvents.

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Extraction conditions for optimal performance in liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) and other extraction techniques are often based on trial-and-error experiments. By investigating the molecular interactions taking place between the analyte and the extraction system, we can build models that help us predict when an analyte is optimally extracted. In the below paper we combine existing theory on extraction kinetics and system equilibrium together with empirical data to build the fundamentals for better prediction models. We introduce the terms slow kinetics, optimal extraction window (OEW), and membrane trapping as a tool to describe the state of the extraction system. 

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In a couple of decades, all chemistry will be green chemistry. However, we are not there yet! Analytical chemistry and sample preparation will follow this trend, and will go greener! In a new paper, we define the term “Green sample preparation” for the first time, and link it to the term “green analytical chemistry”. Green sample preparation is important, because sample preparation procedures often consumes significant amounts of chemicals, reagent, solvent, and materials. In this perspective, we expect our latest collaborative paper will play an important role!

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Collaboration plays a very important role in our research. We collaborate, among others, with colleagues on our own campus (Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo), in Spain (University of Seville), and in China (Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan). In three recent papers focused on electromembrane extraction, we have investigated fundamental aspects, developed green microchip technology and investigated organ-on-chip drug metabolism, as part of this collaboration.

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Green chemistry is a hot topic, and will be extremely important for generations to come. Although the consumption of chemicals is less in analytical chemistry than in chemical industry, green analytical chemistry is still very important. To make analytical chemistry green, we need to make sample preparation green. However, how green can it be? This, we recently addressed by merging microsampling and microextraction, for determination of drugs of abuse in the forensic laboratory.

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Geometry and size are highly flexible in electromembrane extraction (EME), and therefore EME is perfect with microfluidic systems. We have a strong feeling that such technology may be very important in future analytical chemistry, among others in combination with smartphone detection. However, microfluidic EME is in the early research phases, and the question remains how far development has come. In a recent paper, we answered this question together with our colleagues at the University of Copenhagen.

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For long time, we have collaborated with scientists in China and the Czech Republic. Such collaborations are extremely important for the development of electromembrane extraction, and this research has very high priority. Below you can read three scientific papers based on recent collaboration – these works have identified new applications and developed new fundamental understanding of high importance for the future.

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