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Introducing tox‐Profiles of Chemical Reactions
Author(s) -
Egorova Ksenia S.,
Galushko Alexey S.,
Ananikov Valentine P.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202003082
Subject(s) - biochemical engineering , chemistry , process (computing) , computer science , environmental chemistry , engineering , operating system
In this Essay, we present a critical analysis of two common practices in modern chemistry—that is, of using speculations about the “greenness” and “nontoxicity” of developed synthesis procedures and of a priori labelling various compounds derived from natural sources as being environmentally safe. We note that every organic molecule that contains functional groups should be biologically active. Thus, analysis of the particular greenness and the potential environmental impact of a given chemical process should account for the biological activity of all its components in a measureable (rather than empirical) way. We highlight the necessity of clarifying discussions on biological activity and toxicity and propose possible ways of introducing tox‐Profiles as a reliable overview of the overall toxicity of chemical reactions.