Analysis of chiral drugs in environmental matrices: Current knowledge and trends in environmental, biodegradation and forensic fields

• Published in: TrAC, Trends in analytical chemistry (Regular ed.) Vol. 124; p. 115783
• Main Authors: Ribeiro, Ana Rita L., Maia, Alexandra S., Ribeiro, Cláudia, Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.2020
• Subjects: Biodegradation studies; Chiral forensic; Chiral pharmaceuticals; Environmental monitoring; Liquid chromatography; Supercritical fluid chromatography; Wastewater; Biodegradation studies; TBECH; Chiral pharmaceuticals; LC–MS/MS; Supercritical fluid chromatography; SFC; UHPLC; WBE; GC; QTOF; CD; CSP; EF; UV; CE; GC–MS; DAD; TQD; Chiral forensic; Liquid chromatography; Wastewater; WWTP; LC; HBCD; Environmental monitoring; OCP
• ISSN: 0165-9936; 1879-3142
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2019.115783

The challenge to develop enantioselective analytical methods to quantify residues of chiral drugs (CDs) in environmental matrices is an actual and imperative issue. It is well known that enantiomers may differ in their biological activities; nevertheless, most environmental analytical methods still ignore the stereochemistry and the discrimination of the enantiomers. The knowledge about their occurrence and ecological impact in biota is crucial for an accurate risk assessment. This critical review highlights the importance of analyzing CDs in environmental matrices for various applications, emphasizing methodological trends. Chromatographic methodologies are the most used and include liquid (LC), gas (GC), supercritical fluid (SFC) and capillary electrophoresis. LC is still the most widely used though trends for greener approaches and the development of GC and SFC methods are also future directions. Some of the most recent applications, namely for environmental monitoring of surface and wastewater, biodegradation studies and forensic analysis, are presented and critically discussed. •Current analytical trends for chiral drugs analysis in environmental matrices.•Importance of knowledge of the enantiomeric fraction in the environment.•Enantiomeric profile in environmental monitoring, biodegradation and forensic applications.•Discussion of recent applications in chiral drug analysis.