Sustainable dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method utilizing a natural deep eutectic solvent for determination of chloramphenicol in honey: assessment of the environmental impact of the developed method

The greening of pharmaceutical analysis is gaining interest, and different approaches have been proposed, such as minimizing the consumption of hazardous reagents, replacing toxic solvents with safer alternatives, and reducing waste generation. In this work, a natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) was synthesized and utilized as a green alternative in dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) for the determination of chloramphenicol in honey. Different deep eutectic solvents composed of monoterpenoids and acids were tested. The NADES system composed of menthol and acetic acid at a molar ratio of 1 : 1 was found to be the most appropriate in terms of extraction recovery. Different DLLME parameters including vortex time, centrifugation time, sample volume, and deep eutectic solvent volume were optimized. A determination coefficient of 0.9997 was achieved. Satisfactory recovery ranged from 98.8 to 101.5 with % RSD ≤4.5. The chromatographic performance of the presented method compared with other previously documented methods for determination of chloramphenicol in honey was highlighted. Additionally, the ecological impact of the developed method was assessed employing three tools: the Analytical Eco-scale, the Green Analytical Procedure Index, and the Analytical GREEnness metric. The presented method can be regarded as a green substitute for the traditional methods used for the determination of chloramphenicol in honey.