Experimental and chemometric strategies for the development of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) spectroscopic methods for the determination of organic pollutants in natural waters

The development of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) methods is one of the most active areas of Green Chemistry. Especially relevant are GAC methods devoted to the detection and quantification of environmental pollutants, because they should not pollute the environment more than the analyte to be determined. While considerable attention has been paid to develop environmentally friendly alternatives for the first stage of the global analytical process (e.g., sample preparation techniques), relatively fewer works are dedicated to implement green approaches for obtaining the analytical signal. Current strategies that are based on the principles of Green Chemistry for the determination of common organic pollutants in natural waters are detailed. The review collects and discusses selected publications from about the last 5 years relating to the topic, highlighting the role of multivariate calibration as a modern and very useful tool to achieve the pursued objectives.