Green Metric Assessment of Analytical Techniques for the Imidazole Prodrug Olmesartan Medoxomil: A Comparative Analysis

Analytical methods for Olmesartan Medoxomil (OM) have gained significant attention in pharmaceutical analysis, aligning with the green chemistry principles. Various spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques have been developed to ensure accurate, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly quantification of the OM. UV spectroscopic strategies offer simplicity, rapidity, and minimal solvent consumption, making them ideal for routine pharmaceutical analysis. Ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometric methods have several limitations includes need of chromophores, overlapping spectra, and less sensitivity. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) methods remain the gold standard for OM quantification because of their excessive sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility but having draw backs of expensive nature of the equipment, the necessity for trained personnel, the extended duration required for analysis, the use of costly and occasionally hazardous solvents, and the complexity of sample preparation. The greenness of analytical methods is assessed using tools such as Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI) and the AGREE metric, which evaluate solvent consumption, energy efficiency, and waste generation. Whiteness assessment and the use of the Blue Applicability Grade Index (BAGI) provides an additional holistic assessment, integrating performance, sustainability, and analytical performance. This review highlights the greenness and blueness assessment of the analytical methods available for the determination of Olmesartan Medoxomil from 2008 to date. Overall, UV spectroscopy (Method 8) is the most practical and sustainable method, with the best AGREE (0.67) and BAGI scores (75). HPLC (Method 20) is fairly green with an AGREE score (0.67) and HPLC (Method 16 and Method 24) practical with BAGI scores (77.5).