Chiral Personal Care Products

Abstract

Personal care products are bioactive compounds, and their presence in the environment is an issue of global concern. They are a diverse group of chemicals that are used to improve the quality of life. Examples of personal care products include UV filters, synthetic musk fragrances, disinfectants, food additives, biocides, preservatives, and cosmetics. Consumption of personal care products has significantly increased in the past half-century due to global improvement in standards of living. Personal care products are continuously discharged into the environment through wastewater effluent, landfill leachate, indoor dust, and surface runoff. As bioactive compounds, personal care products can cause adverse health effects in terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Considering that most personal care products are high volume products, they are frequently and sometimes abundantly detected in various environmental compartments, including sediment, soil, rivers, lakes, and biota. Some personal care products, such as polycyclic musks, organic UV filters, and plasticizers, are chiral compounds. In this chapter, the physicochemical properties and the enantiospecific fate and toxicities of chiral personal care products will be discussed. The focus will be on polycyclic musks and organic UV filters because they are the ones that have been studied to date. This chapter will examine the sources, pathways, and occurrences of chiral personal care products in the environment. Recommendations for future research will also be included.