Integrating green and white analytical principles for endocrine disruptor analysis in aqueous matrices: From routine methods to emerging technologies

•Standardized off-line SPE is a major drawback in the green analysis of EDC in water.•In-situ sampling or at-line analysis greatly increase the greenness.•Miniaturization enhances sustainability, analytical performance may be compromised.•Differentiating effect-based methods remains challenging due to tool limitations.•Green aspects should be part of analytical methods, not a retrospective analysis. The field of research and development offers promising opportunities to optimize sample preparation and analysis in the determination of endocrine disrupting chemicals. Using the green analytical chemistry tool Analytical GREEnness (AGREE) and the white analytical chemistry (WAC) framework, a comparative analysis of GC–MS/MS, LC-MS/MS and the yeast-cell-based reporter gene assay (A-YES) was conducted. This assessment critically evaluated each method's environmental impact, efficiency and practicality. An overview of potential improvements offers a path to further enhancing not only the greenness but also feasibility of applied methods. By incorporating these advances, each analysis can increase its scores in AGREE and WAC. The WAC analysis highlighted that considerations of analytical performance (red) principles have created an imbalance in contaminant analysis methodologies. Traditionally, developing procedures has primarily focused on red principles and neglected especially green chemistry aspects. In this context, AGREE is particularly useful as it takes a more detailed approach to green principles, rather than compressing them. These shortcomings should be addressed by re-evaluating standards and incorporating sustainable practices into existing and future frameworks. By emphasizing both retrospective assessments and the proactive development of new standards and routine applications, sustainable practices can be promoted without compromising high analytical standards. [Display omitted]