Attending both the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014) and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this review is presented, bearing in mind that green chemistry is essential to contribute to sustainability. This work has compiled all the information relating to green chemistry metrics, so that stakeholders can select an appropriate model, under the Green Chemistry Protocol, to evaluate how much green is a process. The review was organized considering the following convenient sections: the mass valuation, the recognition of the human health and environmental impact, metrics using computational programs (software and spreadsheets), and finally global metrics. This review was developed by consulting the principal databases, since the appearance of the first green chemistry textbook in 1998. A massive number of references were attained involving the keywords proposed below, with six languages observed, highlighted by the English language. It is important to emphasize that the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry are conceptual and offer little quantitative information. In addition, almost all the reported metric green propositions do not consider the 12 principles and few papers offer how to obtain an appropriate evaluation about the greenness of a research. In this sense, it is convenient to note that only in the Spanish literature are there two metrics that consider all the principles. Finally, to our knowledge, and after a deep search in the literature, it is the first review that covers the different features of green chemistry: mass, environment/human health. and in some cases, the use of computational programs.

This review provides a comprehensive overview of where infrared irradiation has been employed, mainly as regards activating green mode for natural products extractions, as well as to favor a reaction, highlighting its actual importance. It is also underlined that infrared irradiation heating has been around for a long time; however, only in the last eighteen years have many of its advantages been applied to satisfy a wide range of chemical processes, natural products extractions, and for the promotion of many kinds of reactions. In addition, it is brought to light that near infrared irradiation is more efficient than middle and far infrared irradiations, being easily controllable and with the quality of a fast responding heat source. Thus, the main objective of this review is to offer infrared irradiation as an alternative clean energy source to activate reactions, in addition to favor the selective extraction of natural products, all of which is within the Green Chemistry protocol. Some recent results from our laboratory are also included.

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This study involved quantum mechanical calculations to explain the chemical behavior of the lactone ring of aflatoxin B1, which is a carcinogenic hazardous compound. The aflatoxin B1 compound, produced by the fungi Aspergillum flavus, was studied with the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) method; its reactivity properties were accounted for by means of the calculated geometrical and electronic parameters. The results obtained indicate that the fused A, B, C, and D rings of aflatoxin adopt a continuous planar conformation. The carbon atom of the lactone group presents a highly electrophilic character, since the population analysis yields a high positive charge for this atom, whereas high negative charges were recorded for both oxygen sites of that group. Thus, in an acidic aqueous medium, the oxygen atoms could be protonated and the carbon site may suffer a nucleophilic attack by water. Accordingly, the OC-O bond length has been lengthened substantially. So it was demonstrated that the lactonic ring of aflatoxin B1 is hydrolyzed under acidic conditions by an acid-acyl bimolecular mechanisms, A(AC)2, suggesting the deletion of its carcinogenic properties.