Application of multicriteria decision analysis in solvent type optimization for chlorophenols determination with a dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction

• Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) is useful tool in procedure development.
• MCDA allows for simultaneous inclusion of many factors in solvent optimization.
• Green analytical chemistry can be introduced to method optimization with MCDA.

This study presents a novel support tool for the optimization and development of analytical methods. The tool is based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), namely the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), that allows users to rank possible solutions according to their requirements. In this study, we performed rankings of pairs of eight extraction and three dispersive solvents used in DLLME for chlorophenols extraction from water samples. The first ranking involved sensitivity and precision of the method for each of the nine chlorophenols. The tool is a quantitative solution to the common analytical problem that the change of analytical performance results in better performance for some analytes and worse for others. The second ranking included the assessment of the greenness of each pair of solvents, based on toxicological, ecotoxicological and environmental persistence criteria. The third ranking was based on a combination of sensitivity, precision and greenness criteria. Heptane as an extraction solvent and acetone as a dispersive solvent were selected as the most appropriate ones. The TOPSIS tool is a successful, easy to implement, incorporation of green analytical chemistry values to analytical method optimization.