Abstract
In recent decades, the presence of micropollutants in the environment has been extensively studied due to their high frequency of occurrence, persistence and possible adverse effects to exposed organisms. Concerning chiral micropollutants in the environment, enantiomers are frequently ignored and enantiomeric composition often neglected. However, enantioselective toxicity is well recognized, highlighting the need to include enantioselectivity in environmental risk assessment. Additionally, the information about enantiomeric fraction (EF) is crucial since it gives insights about: (i) environmental fate (i.e., occurrence, distribution, removal processes and (bio)degradation); (ii) illicit discharges; (iii) consumption pattern (e.g., illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals used as recreational drugs, illicit use of pesticides); and (iv) enantioselective toxicological effects. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review about the enantioselective occurrence of chiral bioactive compounds in aquatic environmental matrices. These include pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic musks (PCMs). Most frequently analytical methods used for separation of enantiomers were liquid chromatography and gas chromatography methodologies using both indirect (enantiomerically pure derivatizing reagents) and direct methods (chiral stationary phases). The occurrence of these chiral micropollutants in the environment is reviewed and future challenges are outlined.
Highlights
In recent decades, thousands of synthetic and naturally occurring compounds have been constantly released into the environment, becoming an issue of serious concern to public, scientists and regulatory authorities [1,2,3,4]
Chiral compounds such as pharmaceuticals, as well as illicit drugs, and pesticides, among others, are administrated/used as racemates or as enantiomerically pure forms, despite the desired pharmacological/biological activity is normally exclusive of one enantiomer
The reports about the occurrence of chiral bioactivity show the variation in the enantiomeric composition in aquatic matrices
Summary
Thousands of synthetic and naturally occurring compounds have been constantly released into the environment, becoming an issue of serious concern to public, scientists and regulatory authorities [1,2,3,4]. Many of these pollutants are chiral and commercialized as racemic mixtures or enantiomerically pure [5]. Most environmental regulations, occurrence or reviewed by Maia etby al. Most environmental regulations, occurrence or ecotoxicological ecotoxicological studies consider these compounds asentities. The environmental understanding the environmental behavior (i.e., occurrence, distribution and toxicity) of the behavior of the individual enantiomers is important individual enantiomers is important for determining their environmental damage, ecological risk and for determining their environmental damage, ecological risk and for the implementation of safety for the implementation of safety regulations. Schematic representation representationof ofthe theimportance importanceofofdetermination determination enantiomeric fraction environmental analysis of chiral pollutants.
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