In the present chapter, the microextraction techniques have been considered
from the perspective of the Green Analytical Chemistry and an attempt has been made
in order to propose a modified eco-scale suitable to provide a green certification of the
extraction steps in the frame of the consideration of reagents and energy consumption
and waste generation. Especially important is the evaluation of the intrinsic toxicity and
risks associated to the use of reagents and the need of an accurate evaluation of the
amounts of reagents and wastes in order to avoid misclassifications. It has been
proposed a new eco-scale, called “Green Certificate”, based on the application of a
color code associated to a letter; from A to G, being A the greenest one, that gives an
idea of how much green an analytical methodology is. In short, it is evident that the
microextraction enhances the method greenness providing class A steps in front of
classical analytical preconcentration and matrix removal which changes the method
category to class D.
