Authors : Prema Rathinam; Senthilkumar Chelladurai; Khalidha Banu Sheik Abdulla; Chandrasekharan Padmanaban; Sabitha Rajamanickam; Balachandru Velmurugan

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 8 - August

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/3vp5m26m

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/3x7yhmrc

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25aug305

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Note : Google Scholar may take 30 to 40 days to display the article.

Abstract : The increasing environmental challenges caused by medicines have led to the creation of green and sustainable pharmacy, which promotes eco-friendly methods throughout the entire process of creating and using medical products. Medicines can enter the environment during their creation, use, and disposal, often leading to pollution of land and water, which can harm other living things. This article looks into environmentally friendly methods for making and disposing of medicines, aiming to cut down on pollution while ensuring that important medicines remain effective and available. The ideas of green chemistry provide the basis for creating drugs that are better for the environment, focusing on using safer solvents, renewable materials, energy-saving methods, and materials that break down naturally. Using techniques like catalysts, biotransformation, enzyme-driven reactions, and nanotechnology in making medicines shows great promise for reducing harmful waste and cutting down energy use. Besides creating medicines in a green way, managing the end-of-life disposal of drugs is vital to lessen their impact on nature. Safe disposal initiatives, like programs for returning unused medicines, educating homes about not flushing drugs down the toilet, and using safe burning methods and advanced water treatment technologies, are crucial to stop active pharmaceutical ingredients from contaminating water sources. New wastewater treatment techniques such as advanced oxidation, activated carbon filters, and membrane systems provide better efficiency than traditional treatment plants. A comprehensive and cooperative effort involving industries, regulators, healthcare professionals, pharmacists, and consumers is necessary to aid the global move toward sustainable pharmacy. By embracing eco-friendly production methods and responsible disposal practices, the pollution from pharmaceuticals can be greatly reduced, ultimately safeguarding human health and maintaining ecological balance.

Keywords : Green Pharmacy, Sustainable Drug Synthesis, Eco-Friendly Pharmaceuticals, Waste Mitigation, Green Chemistry.

References :

1. Kümmerer K. Sustainable from the very beginning: rational design of molecules by life cycle engineering as an important approach for green pharmacy and green chemistry. Green Chem. 2007;9(8):899-907.
2. Krasia-Christoforou T, Aminabhavi TM. Green synthesis methods, tools, and protocols in pharmaceutical processes: a review. J Cleaner Prod. 2021;280:124247.
3. Aus der Beek T, Weber FA, Bergmann A, Hickmann S, Ebert I, Hein A, et al. Pharmaceuticals in the environment—global occurrences and perspectives. Environ Toxicol Chem. 2016;35(4):823-35.
4. Wilkinson JL, Boxall ABA, Kolpin DW, Leung KMY, Lai RWS, Galbán-Malagón C, et al. Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2022;119(8):e2113947119.
5. Dunn PJ. The importance of green chemistry in process research and development. Chem Soc Rev. 2012;41(4):1452-61.
6. Anastas PT, Warner JC. Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1998.
7. Sheldon RA. Fundamentals of green chemistry: efficiency in reaction design. Chem Soc Rev. 2012;41(4):1437-57.
8. de Gonzalo G, Lavandera I, Hollmann F. Biocatalytic approaches towards green pharmaceutical synthesis. Curr Opin Green Sustain Chem. 2020;21:41-6.
9. Constable DJC, Curzons AD, Cunningham VL. Metrics to 'green' chemistry—which are the best? Green Chem. 2002;4(6):521-7.
10. Polshettiwar V, Varma RS. Green chemistry by nanocatalysis. Green Chem. 2010;12(5):743-54.
11. Biffis A, Centomo P, Del Zotto A, Zecca M. Pd metal catalysts for cross-couplings and related reactions in the 21st century: a critical review. Chem Rev. 2018;118(4):2249-296.
12. Sheldon RA, Woodley JM. Role of biocatalysis in sustainable chemistry. Chem Rev. 2018;118(2):801-38.
13. Clarke CJ, Tu W-C, Levers O, Bröhl A, Hallett JP. Green and sustainable solvents in chemical processes. Chem Rev. 2018;118(2):747-800.
14. Kummerer K, Hempel M, editors. Green and Sustainable Pharmacy. Berlin: Springer; 2010.
15. Bound JP, Voulvoulis N. Household disposal of pharmaceuticals as a pathway for aquatic contamination in the United Kingdom. Environ Health Perspect. 2005;113(12):1705-11.
16. Ma X, Zhan C, Yang X, Zhou L, Xu J. Public participation in household pharmaceutical waste disposal: a survey-based study in China. Sci Total Environ. 2021;778:146200.
17. Daughton CG. Cradle-to-cradle stewardship of drugs for minimizing their environmental disposition while promoting human health. I. Rationale for and avenues toward a green pharmacy. Environ Health Perspect. 2003;111(5):757-74.
18. Stoye M, Eberhardt R, Koch M, Sromek M. Management of pharmaceutical waste in hospitals: Current practices and environmental implications. Waste Manag Res. 2021;39(2):249-58.
19. World Health Organization. Safe management of wastes from health-care activities. 2nd ed. Geneva: WHO Press; 2014.
20. Grant K, Mesman J. Pharmaceutical waste and healthcare waste management. Lancet Planet Health. 2022;6(9):e721-3.
21. Verlicchi P, Al Aukidy M, Zambello E. Occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds in urban wastewater: removal, mass load and environmental risk after a secondary treatment—a review. Sci Total Environ. 2012;429:123-55.
22. Rosal R, Rodríguez A, Perdigón-Melón JA, Petre A, García-Calvo E, Gómez MJ, et al. Occurrence of emerging pollutants in urban wastewater and their removal through biological treatment followed by ozonation. Water Res. 2010;44(2):578-88.
23. Nam S-W, Jung C, Li H, Yu M, Flora JRV, Boateng LK, et al. Adsorption characteristics of selected hydrophobic and hydrophilic micropollutants in water using activated carbon. J Hazard Mater. 2014;270:144-52.
24. Bellona C, Drewes JE. The role of membrane filtration in wastewater reuse. Desalination. 2007;204(1–3):1-16.
25. Luo Y, Guo W, Ngo HH, Nghiem LD, Hai FI, Zhang J, et al. A review on the occurrence of micropollutants in the aquatic environment and their fate and removal during wastewater treatment. Sci Total Environ. 2014;473-474:619-41.
26. Shaaban H, Abdo N, Elsharawy N, Gameel R. Green pharmacy: a strategic approach for reducing environmental impact of pharmaceuticals. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022;29(4):5253-66.
27. Rozet E, Lebrun P, Marini RD, Boulanger B, Hubert P. Green analytical chemistry in the pharmaceutical industry. TrAC Trends Anal Chem. 2011;30(5):749-61.